Early symptoms and recognition of pervasive developmental disorders in Germany.
German families wait five years for an autism diagnosis—streamlined clinic models can shrink that to weeks.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Noterdaeme et al. (2010) mailed a long survey to parents across Germany.
They asked when parents first saw odd behaviors and when a doctor finally said "autism."
The team used the gap between those two dates to map how long families wait.
What they found
Kids with classic autism waited about five years from first parent worry to diagnosis.
Children with Asperger’s waited even longer—around seven years.
These waits happened even after parents noticed clear early signs.
How this fits with other research
Shrestha et al. (2014) saw the same problem in Nepal, but the wait was shorter—about two and a half years.
Both studies prove long delays are a global issue, not just a German one.
Bradford et al. (2018) show the fix: a two-visit autism check inside the regular pediatric clinic cuts the wait to only 55 days.
Sicherman et al. (2021) add that when doctors ignore repeated parent concerns, the delay grows by more than a year.
Why it matters
Five-year waits steal therapy time. If you work in intake, triage, or pediatric clinics, push for a fast-track screening path like the 55-day model. Ask parents once, document red flags, and schedule the full autism assessment within weeks, not years.
Want CEUs on This Topic?
The ABA Clubhouse has 60+ free CEUs — live every Wednesday. Ethics, supervision & clinical topics.
Join Free →Add a two-visit screening lane to your intake flow—first visit gathers parent concerns and standardized red flags, second visit completes the autism evaluation.
02At a glance
03Original abstract
Pervasive developmental disorders are characterised by the presence of abnormalities in social interaction and communication as well as repetitive patterns of behaviours. Although early symptoms of the disorder often appear during the first two years of life, its diagnosis is often delayed. The purpose of this study is to analyse the delay between age at first symptoms and age at diagnosis as well as the characteristics of the first symptoms for the different subcategories of pervasive developmental disorders. The sample consists of 601 children with a diagnosis of a pervasive developmental disorder. Age at first symptoms, age at diagnosis and the type of the first problems are registered. The results show that children with autism show first symptoms at a mean age of 15 months whereas diagnosis is made at a mean age of 76 months. Children with Asperger's syndrome show first symptoms at a mean age of 26 months, while diagnosis is made at the mean age of 110 months. There is still a large delay between the age at which parents first report first symptoms and age at diagnosis. To improve early detection, systematic screening and training of primary care paediatricians should be implemented.
Autism : the international journal of research and practice, 2010 · doi:10.1177/1362361310371951