title: Follow-up of two-year-olds referred for possible autism.
abstract: Thirty, 2-year-old children referred for possible autism were evaluated using a parent interview, a rating scale and psychometric tests and reassessed one year later. Clinical diagnosis was relatively stable across time; diagnosis using the formal measures changed significantly, particularly for younger and more developmentally delayed children. Several patterns contributed to the increasing differentiation of children with autism from age 2 to 3, including the development of clearly recognizable, repetitive behaviors in the autistic children and significant improvements in basic social skills in the children judged not to be autistic.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Lord
mesh_terms: D001321:Autistic Disorder / Q000145:classification / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D002659:Child Development Disorders, Pervasive / Q000145:classification / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003142:Communication; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007805:Language Development Disorders / Q000145:classification / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology; D008297:Male; D010348:Patient Care Team; D010552:Personality Assessment; D012919:Social Behavior; D013239:Stereotyped Behavior