Parents' Early Concerns about Their Child with Autism: Relation to Age of Diagnosis.
Madison Leach, Carla A Mazefsky, Jessie B Northrup
PMID 39754655WHAT IT FOUND
Specific early signs like not responding to name or losing skills predicted earlier autism diagnosis.
General language delays or repetitive behaviors did not. A higher number of concerns was associated with later diagnosis in the final model, suggesting specificity matters more than volume.
Key findings
01Delayed or absent response to name, lack of pointing/gesturing, developmental regression, and limited emotional response were significant predictors of an earlier age of diagnosis.
02Common first concerns like delayed babbling/speaking and repetitive behaviors were not significant predictors of age at diagnosis.
03In the final regression model, a greater total number of concerns was associated with a later age at diagnosis, reversing the simple bivariate finding.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for OTsWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
Retrospective design subject to recall bias; parents reported concerns after diagnosis. No control group of parents of children without autism, so specificity of concerns to autism cannot be determined. Sample limited to children diagnosed before age 5, excluding those with later diagnoses. Participants were primarily mothers, limiting insight into paternal concerns. No 'other' option on the first concern checklist, potentially missing unlisted concerns.
Declared interests
The authors report there are no conflicts of interest to disclose.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume that a parent reporting many concerns is more likely to get an early diagnosis. The final model showed that a higher number of concerns was associated with a later diagnosis, suggesting that vague or numerous complaints may complicate the diagnostic process compared to specific, high-risk signs like regression or lack of response to name.
Summarised by AI from the full paper, without a clinician reviewing it. Check it against the source before it changes what you do. Read it on PubMed →