Some Kids May Be Misdiagnosed With Autism

HealthDay News — As many as 9% of American children diagnosed with autism may not have the disorder, according to a federal government study published online in Autism.

Researchers used a probability-based national survey to compare 1,420 currently diagnosed and 187 previously diagnosed children ages 6 to 17 years.

Approximately 13% of the children ever diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder were estimated to have “lost” the diagnosis. Parents of 74% of these children believed the modification of diagnosis was due to new information.

“The results of this study suggest that some children with developmental delays, attentional flexibility problems, or other conditions may be receiving provisional yet inaccurate diagnoses of autism spectrum disorder from nonspecialists,” the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the University of Washington researchers write.

Reference

Blumber SJ, et al. Diagnosis lost: Differences between children who had and who currently have an autism spectrum disorder diagnosis. Autism. 2015; doi: 10.1177/1362361315607724.