Prevalence of Autism Spectrum Disorders in Adult Outpatient Psychiatry.

Johan et al. (2022) tracked the same group of adults with PDD-NOS who were once child psychiatry outpatients. They looked back at old charts to see how many still had extra psychiatric labels in adolescence.

The team wanted to know if the heavy load of anxiety, ADHD, or mood diagnoses eased as the kids grew up.

Eight out of ten kids carried at least one extra psychiatric label in childhood. By adolescence, only six out of ten still did.

The ones who kept the labels were easy to spot: lots of repetitive movements and little interest in people.

Schaaf et al. (2015) interviewed autistic teens moving from pediatric to adult doctors. They felt lost and anxious when services dropped off. Johan’s numbers back up the story: fewer labels don’t always mean fewer needs.

Schaaf et al. (2015) also looked at high-school students with autism. They found that calling a class “functional” did not improve later jobs or independence. Together with Johan, the picture is clear: labels and school plans change, but core social and repetitive traits still predict who struggles most.

Sievers et al. (2020) gave clinicians a new PAI tool to spot ASD in bright adults who never had a diagnosis. Johan shows that many adults once diagnosed with PDD-NOS still carry hidden comorbidity. The two papers meet in the waiting room: one helps find new ASD, the other reminds us to re-check old files.

Don’t treat the first diagnosis as permanent. Re-screen your teen and adult clients, especially if they flap, rock, or stay clear of peers. Update treatment plans when old labels drop off but core autism signs stay strong.