For most parents when their child is diagnosed with Autism or a form of PDD, one of their biggest questions is “What is going to happen to my child?” “What is their future going to look like?”
When my boys were diagnosed with autism one of my main concerns was what was the future going to look like for them or put another way, what was their prognosis? However, as many times that I asked this question, none of the professionals were able to give me an answer. Or at least not any answer I was happy with.
Now looking back at it I can see that it would be very difficult for those professionals to determine what a 3 year olds future is going to be. All they could really tell me was that my boys would live a normal life expectancy but that autism is a life long disorder.
Some things I have learned about the prognosis of autism is that the most significant element is the I.Q. of the child. I read somewhere recently that an I.Q. below 50 might mean that the child may need supervision for the rest of their life. However, I think it would be quite difficult to get an I.Q. of a child
under 3 or 4 years of age.
Likewise, the childs outcome can be predicted by the level of social interaction impairment and lack of appropriate communication. However, early intervention that involves behavioral modification and also stresses speech therapy can alter these results. A good predictor of a prognosis for your child maybe the progress they have made over a period of time, approximately one year from early diagnosis.
In many cases, those children who have been diagnosed with a mild form of PDD and only have some autistic features can end up doing remarkably well. And in most instances their prognosis is very very good.
Although the symptoms of autism usually remain throughout life, the symptoms in most children can improve with intervention or as the child gets older. I know with our boys that alot of their symptoms have improved. I think both from receiving early intervention and also because they are older now. They are much easier to take care of these days – they have calmed down considerably.
It has even been known for some individuals that have been diagnosed with autism, that with the right therapy and treatment that it is possible for those individuals to eventually lead near-normal lives.
