The Daily Mail: Doctors 'missed autism in thousands of children'

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Doctors 'missed autism in thousands of children'Last updated at 01:05am on 8th April 2008 Comments

Thousands of adults classed as having language disorders in childhood may be autistic, research suggests.

Re-examination of young men and women with severe language disorders showed up to a quarter fitted the current criteria for autism.

The Oxford University findings suggest many would have received more appropriate care had they been been treated for autism.

The study - published in the journal Developmental Medicine & Child Neurology - suggests rising rates of autism may be partially explained by a widening of the diagnostic criteria over the past 20 years.

More than one child in 100 children have autism or a related condition - a ten-fold increase on 30 years ago.

Researcher Professor Dorothy Bishop applied current criteria to 38 adults aged 15 to 31 diagnosed with language disorders between 1986 and 2003.

Professor Bishop, whose research was funded by the Wellcome Trust, said some of her subjects "felt they might have got more help had they been diagnosed earlier".

She advised anyone concerned about a diagnosis to contact their GP or the National Autistic Society.