Autism is not one condition, but four, according to new research that could help children to be diagnosed earlier and to get more tailor -made support.
Scientists in the US analyzed data from more than 5,000 children and discovered that the condition falls into four clear types, each with its own series of properties, risks and causes.
The findings can help explain why some people are diagnosed, why some people develop other psychological problems and why the condition can look very different from one person to the next, they say.
The most common, seen in 37 percent of the cases, was characterized by difficulties with socializing and repetitive behaviors – but no delays in early development.
Children in this group are often diagnosed later and are more likely to develop disorders such as ADHD, anxiety or depression.
Researchers discovered that this type was linked to genes involved in later brain development, which can explain the delayed diagnosis.
The second group, called ‘moderate challenges’, formed 34 percent of the cases and showed similar behavior, but without the increased risk of mental health problems.
The third group, described as ‘mixed ASD with development delay’, was about one in five children with the condition.
Scientists have discovered that there are four different and different types of autism in one step that they have mentioned a ‘paradigm shift’ for the future treatment of the condition. Stock image
These children reached important milestones – such as walking and talking – later than expected, and showed a combination of social and behavioral characteristics that are typical of autism.
They had no more chance of developing mental disorders.
The final and least ordinary type, ‘widely affected’, accounted for only 10 percent of the cases.
Children in this group showed the most serious symptoms, including in -depth development delays and a high risk of extra psychiatric disorders.
They also had the highest number of harmful De Novo mutations – general changes that occur spontaneously in the womb instead of being inherited.
Professor Olga Troyanskaya, senior author of the study and a specialist in genomic data at Princeton University, said: “Insight into the genetics of autism is essential to reveal the biological mechanisms that contribute to the condition, making previous and more accurate diagnosis possible and personalized care.”
Psychologist Jennifer Foss-Feig, another author of the study, added that knowing the autism subtype of a child could help parents see important signs of mental health conditions or developmental problems.
“It could see that when their children with autism are still young, something more about what symptoms they might – or perhaps not – experience, what they should pay attention to in the course of a lifespan, who should strive for those treatments and how they can plan their future,” she said.
This graph shows the percentage increase in the incidence of autism -diagnosis from 1998 to 2018. UK researchers discovered that the diagnoses of autism had risen with an ‘exponential’ 787% for 20 years. They said that the increase could be due to an increased recognition of the disorder among experts, especially when diagnosing autism in girls and adults, but an increase in cases of autism themselves cannot be excluded
The findings, published in Nature Genetics, are based on an analysis of 233 individual characteristics related to autism, including language development, cognitive ability, social behavior and mental health symptoms.
The researchers used this data to group children in four species and then examined their genetic information to search for patterns.
The authors emphasized that the four types of autism is only a basis, and there can be more or subtypes within each group, which adds that this was an area of further research.
Their discovery comes in the midst of increasing concern that autism can be diagnosed in England, with an eight -fold increase in cases in recent decades.
British researchers have said that you are worried, probably due to a greater awareness of the condition, but have also added an increase in prevalence, can also contribute.
An extra factor experts say that the turnout can influence is the retirement of Asperger’s syndrome.
This was once considered a separate condition, but is now considered a different form of autism.
However, others have pointed to the ‘Wild West’ of Autism screening in England that could mean that over diagnosis could also play a role.
Last year, a study revealed that adults referred to some autism rating facilities have an 85 percent chance to hear that they are in the spectrum.
However, the figure in other places can be as low as 35 percent, researchers from University College London thought.
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