Quality of Life and Societal Cost in Autistic Children: An Exploratory Comparative Study Pre- and Post-Diagnosis.

Only 36 of 134 children had both pre- and post-diagnosis reports, so the analysed group was small and may not represent the referred children. Caregivers reported service use and quality of life by proxy, and autistic children often rate their own quality of life higher than caregivers. The study did not collect caregiver informal care or productivity loss, so total societal costs were incomplete. It did not record which interventions were delivered between pre- and post-diagnosis, so changes cannot be attributed to diagnosis or therapy. The sample was Dutch, clinically referred, and mostly well-functioning, so it may not apply to children in the general population or other health systems. Small sample and exploratory analysis mean non-significant total cost and quality-of-life changes could be due to low power. Ageing over the interval may explain changes because age could not be stratified.

The paper names SSWO as the funder. The supplied text does not include an author conflict-of-interest disclosure.

Do not conclude that an autism diagnosis caused lower total costs or better quality of life. The total cost and quality-of-life changes were not statistically significant, and the study did not control for interventions, ageing, or other changes over time.