Childhood diagnoses in individuals identified as autistics in adulthood

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Rødgaard, E. M., Jensen, K., Miskowiak, K. W., & Mottron, L. (2021). Childhood diagnoses in individuals identified as autistics in adulthood. Molecular Autism, 12(1), 73-73. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13229-021-00478-y

Publication date: 1 Dec 2021 Added to AutiHub: 15 Sep 2026 Type: Article Article language: English
Publisher source (DOI) Full text OpenAlex source

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Authors

Publication authors
4
Publication authors identified as autistic
1 / 4 (25.0%)
  1. Eya-Mist Rødgaard *
  2. Kristian Jensen
  3. Kamilla Woznica Miskowiak
  4. Laurent Mottron

Abstract

Abstract Background Autism is a developmental condition, where symptoms are expected to occur in childhood, but a significant number of individuals are diagnosed with autism for the first time in adulthood. Here, we examine diagnoses given in childhood among individuals that are diagnosed with autism in adulthood, to investigate whether the late autism diagnosis might be explained by misdiagnosis in childhood or diagnostic overshadowing. Methods Through the Danish National Patient Registry, we identified individuals diagnosed with autism in adulthood (N = 2199), as well as a control sample with no records of an autism diagnosis (N = 460,798) and calculated how many had received different psychiatric or neurological diagnoses in childhood. Results We found that most childhood diagnoses were overrepresented in those with an adult autism diagnosis, and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, affective disorders, anxiety, and stress disorders were the most prevalent childhood conditions in this group. However, 69% of males and 61% of females with adult autism diagnoses were not found to have received any of the investigated diagnoses before 18 years of age, and most childhood diagnoses were given after the age of 12. Limitations Milder to moderate cases of psychiatric conditions that have been solely treated by family physicians or school psychologists may not be fully included in our dataset. The study is based on data from the Danish health care system, and further research is needed to assess whether the findings can be generalized to other countries. Conclusion A majority of those with an adult autism diagnosis had no records of having received any of the investigated diagnoses in childhood. In these cases, the late autism diagnosis is therefore unlikely to be explained by either misdiagnosis or overshadowing. This result is at odds with the prevailing notion that autistic symptoms tend to diminish with age. Therefore, further research is warranted to examine how and if early signs of autism may have manifested among these individuals, and how similar they are to autistic people diagnosed earlier in their development.

Bibliography cited by this reference

Cited references are imported from external metadata sources when they are available. The list may be partial.

Cited bibliography overview

These indicators describe the bibliography cited by this publication. An author name is counted each time it appears in one cited reference, so the same person can be counted more than once. Names not yet linked to an author already present in AutiHub are treated as unknown, not as non-autistic. Last computed: 15 Sep 2026 07:45.

Cited references
43
With a DOI
39
Without a DOI, from raw bibliography text
3
1 / 43 (2.3%) cited references include at least one author identified as autistic.
References with data to complete
3 / 43 (7.0%)
References with detected author names
42 / 43 (97.7%)
Without detected author names
1
Without a structured title
2
Without a stable identifier
3
References with raw author names still to review
1
References with external metadata lookup issues
0
These indicators apply to cited references displayed on this page, after technical duplicates have been merged. A reference without a DOI can still support author statistics when a title and author names are available.
Author names detected in the cited bibliography
165
From DOI or external metadata
165
From validated raw bibliography text
0
Raw names already validated
0
Raw names still to review
1
61 / 165 (37.0%) names are linked to an author already present in AutiHub. 104 / 165 (63.0%) names are not yet linked.
Names linked to a person identified as autistic
1 / 165 (0.6%)
Calculated across all author names detected in the cited bibliography. Among names linked to an author already present in AutiHub: 1 / 61 (1.6%). Distinct people identified as autistic: 1 / 145 (0.7%).
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