prognosis for three year old children with ASD ??

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my knowledge is that there is no agreed upon prognosis for three year old children with high functioning ASD. has there been any recent research that could address the issue of prognosis; or there are still no conclusive contentions by practitioners on the subject ?? .any links to the subject would be appreciated.

I think it depends, but as a rule no one with AS or regular Autism usually is cured of it.......so they'll have it their whole life, but how it will effect them can vary quite a bit.

I'm not sure what you mean by "prognosis" here.

It's pretty unusual for children to be diagnosed as young as 3 years old, anyway.

You can't cure something that's not an illness or a disease.

I think prognosis is referring to the chance of success in life.
That's what it meant for me. It does not mean cure in psychological terms.

I got the prognosis of fair chance at the age of 16.
I am not sure if a 3 year old could get an accurate prognosis.
Childhood autism is not the same as adult autism. A prognosis would almost be pointless at this age.

I'm sorry that I couldn't be more help. I would imagine that raising an autistic child would be very hard.
I know that it was for my parents and I feel very bad for that.

[Moved from General Autism Discussion to Parents' Discussion]

It is not unusual for less mild cases to be diagnosed early. My child was diagnosed at 4 and probably could have been at 2, if the initial EI phone screen didn't focus so much on cognitive stuff/vocabulary/sentences vs. social/communication/behavior stuff. His profile is a lot more like an Apsie then typical HFA but his social deficits are very severe so he has an autistic label.

I do not think there is a consensus because development is atypical and varies so much from one child to another. Yes, the uncertainty ias difficult, but at the same time you should try not to worry too much because you never know what your child can grow into doing.

Early intervention is supposed to help with problematic issues, but honestly it is very hard to know what is the result of interventions and what is a natural leap in development.

It was impossible for me to be diagnosed at 3. I didn't show any traits until I started school. The traits I did show when I was under 4 were probably so minor that were just considered normal toddler behaviour, because I've worked at a preschool before and all the children there had repetitive behaviour, hyperactivity yet shyness depending on environment, and were clumsy and had poor motor skills. Maybe classic Autism is easier to define in toddlers, but those with mild AS are likely to blend in and not be noticed. There could have been 5 Aspies in this group, but I wouldn't have guessed at the time.

I don't expect a 3-year-old to walk like an adult, talk like an adult, make the right body moves like an adult, and even think like an adult. Do you?

this is how it was for my son. He had issues, traits, etc...but no one would give him a diagnosis casue he was so high functioning. He did a lot of stuff that typical 2,3 and 4yos did. The issue became when he was getting older and his typical peers were losing some of that behavior, my son wasnt. I am also a special ed teacher who worked with preschoolers and early elem...so my alarm bells were going off. I believe had I not worked in that profession, I wouldnt have kept pushing for answers when so many told me he was fine, or just shy, or it was my parenting, or he will outgrow it, or all boys are like that, etc...and he probably wouldnt have gotten the diagnosis at just before he turned 6, and most likely would have been labled an ED kid if he were at school, or maybe gotten the diagnosis when he was 9 ot 10.

As for prognosis, or how they will do as adults, no one can predict. I am praying that all the hard work we are putting into my son will help him lead a normal life. I want him to be able to go to college or get a job, have a family or a career or both, and just be able to get along in society. To me, that will be success! Sometimes I get scared casue he cannot follow directions, he has tantrums and outbursts...and I think ifhe does this as an adult we will have problems. But then I am reminded of my readings how AS kids tend to be 3-4 years behind emotionally, which would put my sons behaviors at a 2yo level, which is correct. Actually his 2 1/2 yo sister has less outbursts then he does, and I can reason with her better on a lot of occasions! BUT then I think, maybe at 10 he will have the emotions like a 6yo, and we will be making progress!

Hang in there, it is difficult to want the best for your child, and to have the unknown hanging over our heads.

I don't think accurate statistics exist, because outcomes are changing so rapidly, by which I mean positive outcomes. The kids I know that are on the spectrum are all doing really well, often able to drop supports by high school. The specialists we work with are actually excited, seeing how early investments are paying off.

Someone like my son, I think, would probably always have been "fine." I think my father was AS, and he got through OK. But the world beat him down emotionally, and I don't think of him as having been happy much. I didn't want that for my son, even though I always figured he was smart enough to manage. And I do think we are seeing, after all these years, something better for him: I think he is not just getting by, but thriving.

You have a long road ahead and a lot of work to do. There will be times you really worry if you can get past the hurdle you see in front of you. But know that all you put into this, all that pay-close-attention-parenting, some of the specialists, etc, DOES pay off, and you can improve the potential outcomes for your child.

Of the four ASD kids my son has gone through school with, three should be fully independent as adults. The fourth has always needed a full time aid at school, so independence seems more doubtful for him, but he is an amazing and happy person, so I think he can expect a full filling life, if not a fully independent one.

I will also say that they do diagnose things earlier and there are a lot more early interventions then there was a generation ago. I took my 4 year old child in for ADD (I thought her speech was fine) and they diagnosed her with HFA/AS. Whereas I have read several adults accounts on here that sounded eerily similar to my child except they weren't diagnosed until much latter in life. The reason for the early diagnosis is because there is a lot of money in early intervention where I am. The Child Psychologist told me that she wasn't completely sure if my daughter has autism or if she is just introverted and shy. My daughter doesn't have a lot of sensory issues nor does she have any physical issues like toe walking. But after 2 months of interventions it has become clear she is likely autistic.

http://www.freevideosforautistickids.co ... of_Son.php

You can check out my own son's school, speech testing records, doctor's notes, etc., which show a big progression, especially in speech and IQ, over a period of three years. The first testing was done when he was 3.

Now, he would be classified as high functioning ASD, but his early testing indicated that low functioning ASD was more likely.

I think that how much a child will progress depends very much upon the child's particular impairments and what interventions are used. (Intensive home-based speech therapy using a multi-sensory approach combined with simultaneous reading instruction, other academic tutoring, moderate meds for anxiety, ABA, and video modeling/social stories, in my son's case.)

Of course, children with higher IQs to start out with and only mild speech issues tend to statistically fair better. Statistics are very important in judging the success of a school or government program. However, I've never believed in letting my life or my kids' lives be determined by a statistic or category.