Outcome in autism and autistic-like conditions.
Autism carries a very variable prognosis; there might be a slight increase in mortality in the first 30 years of life. A small, but not negligible, minority of people with autism lead productive, self-supporting adult lives, but about two-thirds will remain dependent on others throughout life. The risk of epilepsy is very high, both in early childhood and adolescence. An important minority deteriorate in adolescence. Outcome in autistic-like conditions is even more variable, ranging from excellent in many cases of so-called Asperger syndrome to gloomy in most cases of so-called disintegrative disorders.
Gillberg
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Department of Pediatrics and Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, University of Göteborg, Sweden.
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001321:Autistic Disorder / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D002648:Child; D002659:Child Development Disorders, Pervasive / Q000150:complications; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004827:Epilepsy / Q000150:complications; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D011379:Prognosis; D012307:Risk Factors