Some infants who are later diagnosed with autism have unusually fast growth in certain brain regions, according to multiple studies6,7,8. Compared with their non-autistic peers, autistic children have significantly faster expansion of the surface area of their cortex from 6 to 12 months of age.
Overall, while there is no set age at which the autistic brain fully develops, it's important to focus on providing support and resources for individuals with autism throughout their lives. By doing so, we can help them reach their full potential and lead happy and fulfilling lives.
As compared to both typically-developing controls or non-autistic individuals with mental retardation, individuals with ASD have a 5-10% enlargement in total brain volume at 18 months-4 years of age. The increased BS was attributed to an increase in both the gray and white matter volumes.
Conclusion: Our data suggest that nearly half of individuals with ASD have average or higher IQ. Boys with ASD are more likely to have average or higher IQ than girls. Patients with ASD and higher IQ remain at risk for not being identified.
It's long been known that a subset of ASD patients will show extraordinary gifts in mental acuity and computation. These autistic savants exist at the other end of the spectrum, exhibiting feats of mental intelligence that the neurotypical can only marvel at.
Savant syndrome is a rare, but extraordinary, condition in which persons with serious mental disabilities, including autistic disorder, have some 'island of genius' which stands in marked, incongruous contrast to overall handicap.
While autism does not necessarily get worse with age, there are some factors that can exacerbate symptoms and make it more difficult for individuals to manage their condition. For example, stress and anxiety can have a significant impact on the symptoms of autism.
Key Autism Statistics & Facts
In 2023, the CDC reported that around 1 in 36 children in the U.S. is diagnosed with autism. Autism prevalence has increased 178% since 2000. The country with the highest rate of diagnosed autism in the world is Qatar, and the country with the lowest rate is France.
One key finding was that children's symptom severity can change with age. In fact, children can improve and get better. "We found that nearly 30% of young children have less severe autism symptoms at age 6 than they did at age 3.
Since there is no physical test to diagnose this complex neurodevelopmental condition, doctors use behavior, history, and parent-reported interviews to diagnose ASD. Research is suggesting that, in future, brain scans may be used to diagnose autism, possibly even before behavioral symptoms become apparent.
"Because the brain of a child with autism develops more slowly during this critical period of life, these children may have an especially difficult time struggling to establish personal identity, develop social interactions and refine emotional skills," Hua said.
The brain in autistic patients cannot adjust to the changes in the environment. Specifically, the brain in ASD patients has inadequate structural plasticity. The abnormal cortical plasticity in autistic patients makes it difficult for the brain to restructure neurons and neuron networks.
In severe cases, an autistic child may never learn to speak or make eye contact. But many children with autism and other autism spectrum disorders are able to live relatively normal lives.
Four social brain regions, the amygdala, OFC, TPC, and insula, are disrupted in ASD and supporting evidence is summarized; these constitute the proposed common pathogenic mechanism of ASD. Symptomatology is then addressed: widespread ASD symptoms can be explained as direct effects of disrupted social brain regions.
Based on the operationalisation of a previous study, we examined 'slower', 'average', and 'faster' agers (Belsky et al. 2017). More than twice as many people in the high autistic trait group (31.6%) were faster agers, compared to 13.3% of the low trait group (see Supplementary Material, Supplementary Figure 1).
It is estimated that 1 in 100 people in Australia have Autism. In 2018 there were 205,200 Australians with Autism, a 25.1% increase from the 164,000 in 2015 (Source: ABS SDAC 2018– Autism in Australia). This means that if you have Autism you are not alone.
Advances in diagnostic capabilities and greater understanding and awareness of autism spectrum disorder seem to be largely driving the increase, the Rutgers researchers said.
Long-term research that involved following a group of individuals with autism for two decades indicates that the average life expectancy for some autistic people is about 39 years. Furthermore, this population generally succumbed to health complications about 20 years earlier than individuals who do not have autism.
Autism is not an illness
It means your brain works in a different way from other people. It's something you're born with. Signs of autism might be noticed when you're very young, or not until you're older. If you're autistic, you're autistic your whole life.
However, the fitness tests showed that aerobic fitness, flexibility and body mass index of children with autism spectrum disorders was similar to the children without autism. The strength test was the only one that children with autism spectrum disorders did not perform as well in, the study said.
Autism symptoms do not necessarily get worse at puberty, but the challenges that come with this period of development can exacerbate existing symptoms. Puberty is a time of significant change, and children with autism may struggle to understand and cope with these changes.
Autism Prevalence
31% of children with ASD have an intellectual disability (intelligence quotient [IQ] <70), 25% are in the borderline range (IQ 71–85), and 44% have IQ scores in the average to above average range (i.e., IQ >85). Autism affects all ethnic and socioeconomic groups.
The starting engine for that talent is an extraordinary eye for detail. For autistic people, there seems to be a different balance between the details and the bigger picture. Autistic people struggle to recognise what other people are thinking intuitively, but this gives them an advantage in avoiding herd mentality.