New hope for parents of autistic children

How autism develops....

Autism is a lifelong developmental disability which affects the way a person communicates and relates to people around them. Most research has focussed on its causes, rather than looking at it as a developmental disorder, but now Dr Elizabeth Pellicano from Bristol University has looked at it developmentally. And by following a group of autistic children over three years, she has found that there were significant differences in the way they progressed.

“What makes some children improve considerably relative to others is important for improving children’s outcomes if we can work out what instigates that change,” said Dr Pellicano, who works in Bristol’s department of Experimental Psychology.

There is this conception that people with autism don’t improve. It is certainly a lifelong condition, but there are improvements over time.

People with autism particularly have difficulties with everyday social interaction, but this new research gives hope to parents who wonder if their autistic child will ever have a “real” friendship or hold down a job. Dr Pellicano - who has just been awarded the prestigious Michael Young prize for her work - is also hopeful that it will help to determine better policy responses to the condition.

“My research findings bring hope to parents, teachers, and professionals working with young people with autism,” she said. “They show that children with autism can make positive gains over a relatively short time period.

“In particular, children’s improvements in social interactions were especially impressive. They were chattier than previously, some were beginning to form friendships, and most showed fewer unusual behaviours and interests. We need to identify why these improvements took places, and how we can foster them further.”