How well does early diagnosis of autism stand the test of time? Follow-up study of children assessed for autism at age 2 and development of an early diagnostic service.

The team tracked the toddlers who got an autism label at age 2. They watched the same kids again at age 4 to see if the label still fit.

All testing happened in a university clinic. Clinicians used play, toys, and parent questions to score each child.

Every child still met autism criteria two years later. The label stuck.

Kids who lost social skills already had big behavior problems at age 2. Early behavior issues flagged later trouble.

Amore et al. (2011) asked the same question in the real world. They saw more label changes, especially when kids first got the softer PDD-NOS tag. The difference: Vanessa’s kids came from a specialty clinic, while M’s came from any local doctor. Clinic samples look cleaner because only clear cases get referred.

Fernell et al. (2014) later argued you don’t need a 20-year study to trust early screening. Vanessa’s short, tight data is one brick in that wall.

Lord et al. (2005) wanted tougher methods. They would call Vanessa’s tiny sample a wake-up call to run bigger trials, not a finish line.

You can feel safe telling parents, “Yes, we can spot autism at two.” Still, schedule a re-check at four, especially if the first label was PDD-NOS or behavior problems are high. Use the visit to update goals and catch any social slip early.