ArticleJournal of child psychology and psychiatry, and allied disciplines2022
Mental health and social difficulties of late-diagnosed autistic children, across childhood and adolescence.
Article in Journal of child psychology and psychiatry, and allied disciplines, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 39 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
39 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 71 citations in OpenAlex.
- Efficacy of game-based interventions on cognitive performance in children and adolescents with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder: a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMC psychiatry · 2025Pooled it
- Who, when, where, and why: A systematic review of "late diagnosis" in autism.Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism Research · 2025Pooled it
- Developmental Trajectories of Autistic Traits in Infants With Autism and/or ADHD Family History: Predictors and Mid-Childhood Outcomes.Journal of autism and developmental disorders · 2026Article
- "It is Just Too Overwhelming and Constant": Environmental Influences on Anxiety and Depression in Autistic Young People.Journal of autism and developmental disorders · 2026Article
- Article
- Otological conditions and autism spectrum disorder in Medicaid beneficiaries aged 1 to 20 years: a cross-sectional study.BMC pediatrics · 2026Article
- Sex-specific metrics for success: Gaps in social word use are bigger for autistic girls than boys.Autism : the international journal of research and practice · 2026Article
- A Telehealth Diagnostic Tool for Autistic Children With Phrased and Fluent Speech: Comparison to In-person Diagnosis.Journal of autism and developmental disorders · 2026Article
- A Developmental Taxonomy of Autism and the Precision Timing of the Cheung Glutamatergic Regimen.Cureus · 2026Review
- Social relationships and mental wellbeing in autistic adolescent girls and boys: A longitudinal investigation.JCPP advances · 2026Article
- Initial diagnosis patterns of coexisting mental health and neurodevelopmental conditions in autistic children and youth: Evidence from a nationally representative sample in Canada.Journal of child psychology and psychiatry, and allied disciplines · 2026Article
- Determining unmet need: clinical relevance of suspected neurodivergence in first-episode psychosis.BJPsych bulletin · 2025Article
- Neurodevelopmental and Psychosocial Outcomes in Adolescence of Children with Early Diagnoses of ADHD, Autism, Dyscalculia and Dyslexia.Research on child and adolescent psychopathology · 2025Article
- Self-harm and suicidality experiences of autistic and non-autistic adults in midlife and old age.Molecular autism · 2025Article
- Differences in the Social Experiences of Autistic and Non-Autistic Adolescents by Gender.Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism Research · 2025Article
- Article
- Emotion and peer problems in autistic adolescents: The role of puberty, school adjustment and bullying.JCPP advances · 2025Article
- Polygenic and developmental profiles of autism differ by age at diagnosis.medRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences · 2025Article
- Early predictors of late childhood behavioural outcomes following very preterm birth.Psychological medicine · 2025Article
- Clinicians' Experiences of Eating Disorder Focused Family Therapy With Autistic Young People.European eating disorders review : the journal of the Eating Disorders Association · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundAutism can be diagnosed from 2 years of age, although most autistic people receive their diagnosis later than this after they have started education. Research is required to understand why some autistic children are diagnosed late, and the level and nature of unmet need prior to diagnosis for late-diagnosed children.
methodsWe examined trajectories of emotional, behavioural and social difficulties (EBSDs) across childhood and adolescence, comparing 'earlier-diagnosed' (diagnosed 7 years or younger) with 'late-diagnosed' (diagnosed between 8 and 14 years) autistic children. Data were from the Millennium Cohort Study, a population-based UK birth cohort. EBSDs were measured using the parent-report Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire, at 3, 5, 7, 11 and 14 years. We used Growth Curve Modelling to investigate levels and rates of change in these difficulties, and to compare earlier- (n = 146) and late-diagnosed (n = 284) autistic children.
resultsAged 5, earlier-diagnosed autistic children had more emotional (i.e., internalising), conduct, hyperactivity and social difficulties; although clinical difficulties in these areas were nevertheless common in late-diagnosed children. There was a faster annual increase in scores for all domains for late-diagnosed children, and by age 14 years, they had higher levels of EBSDs. These results persisted when we ran adjusted models, to account for the late-diagnosed group having higher rates of late-diagnosed attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder, higher IQ, a higher proportion of females and older and more educated mothers.
conclusionsEmotional, behavioural and social difficulties are associated with, and may influence, the timing of autism diagnosis. Late-diagnosed autistic children often have high levels of mental health and social difficulties prior to their autism diagnosis, and tend to develop even more severe problems as they enter adolescence.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.