Can Autism Develop Later in Life?

As knowledge about autism has expanded in recent years, an increasing number of children have been diagnosed with it. In fact, the prevalence rates of autism have exploded this century among nearly every youth age group.

With this newfound knowledge and awareness of autism — including its signs, symptoms and potential causes — some adults have wondered whether they may have undiagnosed autism or have been misdiagnosed with some other disorder.

While autism spectrum disorder is typically diagnosed during childhood, some people don’t get a diagnosis until they’re older. This begs the question: Can autism develop later in life?

The simple answer is no, but we’ll dive into the “why” behind that answer below.

Table Of Contents

What is Autism Spectrum Disorder?

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a term that describes a group of neurodevelopment disorders that can range in severity. Generally speaking, people who have ASD are characterized by impaired communication skills, repetitive behaviors and restricted interests, among other things.

Most of the signs and symptoms of ASD relate to how children with it communicate and behave. That being said, it is a wide and variety disorder, and each child with ASD is unique and can display unique characteristics.

In recent years, new research has uncovered some of the common autism causes, which includes factors such as biology, environment and genetics.

ASD is also a life-life developmental disorder. This means that it can’t be “cured,” but is rather treated with proven therapies such as applied behavioral analysis, or ABA therapy.

What Does an ASD Diagnosis Entail?

There is no simple test that can determine whether someone has ASD. Unlike some other conditions, autism can’t be diagnosed through a blood test or other medical examination.

Instead, mental health professionals use observations of behavior, conversations with parents and comparisons to developmental milestones to give autism diagnoses.

Full evaluations are conducted to gain feedback from a variety of people who have frequent interactions with the child, including parents and/or caregivers, childcare workers, teachers and others.

Pediatricians will also discuss typical developmental milestones during regular “well” visits, and refer parents to a specialist if they believe a more in-depth evaluation is necessary.

Can Autism Develop Later in Life?

While some people may not be diagnosed with autism until later in life, ASD itself can’t develop later in life.

The developmental disorder first occurs during the childhood brain development. All of the basic neurodevelopment that a brain does with functioning networks and internal connections — which determine a person’s interactions, communication and behavior — are completed by the time an individual reaches adulthood.

This means that autism can only develop during childhood.

The confusion in this regard comes from the fact that there are different severities of autism.

One such severity — which used to be called Asperger syndrome and is sometimes referred to as “high-functioning autism today — can sometimes go unnoticed until later in life.

That’s because the signs and symptoms of this severity of autism typically only display themselves when an individual is facing great challenges or is in more demand. These are things that grow in frequency later in life, which may make it difficult to diagnose in children.

In addition, with so much more knowledge about autism gained in recent years, some people have only received an autism diagnosis when they’re adults, as that diagnosis was missed when they were children.

This doesn’t mean that the autism developed later, though, only that it wasn’t diagnosed during childhood.

Many of the signs and symptoms of autism are similar in adulthood and childhood. But, as mentioned, these characteristics may exhibit themselves more later in life as adults are forced to be more independent, face extra challenges with strangers and veer off a strict daily routine more frequently than children.

Trust Blue Gems ABA to Diagnose and Treat Your Child

Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder that develops in childhood. Identifying and recognizing the common signs and symptoms of it are important, as studies have shown that the earlier treatment can be started, the more effective the outcomes will be.

At Blue Gems ABA, we are dedicated to supporting children on the autism spectrum every day. We do this through our accurate ASD evaluations and the ABA therapy that we provide patients to help them build the social, communication and daily life skills with which they might struggle.

To learn more, please contact us today.