Thirty-two autistic children, identified in an epidemiological survey in England when they were 8 to 10 years old, were followed up 8 years later. The best single predictor of outcome was a measure of speech. Speech and IQ together correlated more highly with outcome than did any other combination of variables. The frequency of family mental illness was similar to that found in comparable studies. Onset of fits in adolescence in some autistic children confirms that evidence of neurological abnormalities increases with age. Subclassification among autistic children is urged. A scheme is offered which identifies main areas of uncertainty in classification.
This research was supported under grant MH 20537 awarded by the National Institute of Mental Health.
Full descriptions of case definition and characteristics of subjects are given in Lotter (1966).