Theory that children can 'recover' from autism is controversial UK Daily Mail, 24th January 2012

Children or teenagers diagnosed with autism alongside early hearing problems were less likely to be considered autistic later on

Development: Children or teenagers diagnosed with autism alongside early hearing problems were less likely to be considered autistic later on

Many children diagnosed with autism at a young age no longer display symptoms when they are older, researchers say.

A study published in the journal Pediatrics, found one-third of youngsters who had ever been diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder no longer had the diagnosis at the time their parents were surveyed.

The researchers noted in their report, published in Pediatrics, that past studies have also found some children who originally have an autism spectrum disorder eventually lose that diagnosis and are no longer considered autistic.

However, whether this is due to a mistaken first diagnosis or actual changes taking place in their brains is controversial.

A team, led by Dr Andrew Zimmerman from Massachusetts General Hospital for Children, studied data from a phone survey of 92,000 parents of children aged 17 and younger in the U.S in 2007 and 2008.

In total, 1,366 said their child had a past or current diagnosis of an autism spectrum disorder. In 453 of those cases, children had been diagnosed by a doctor of having a disorder but parents said they didn't have one any more.