the findings , which coincide with world autism awareness day on april 2, are the result of one of the largest longitudinal studies of its kind, conducted at the hospital for sick children and the centre for addiction and mental health in toronto. instead of focusing on what children with autism spectrum disorder (asd) are lacking, researchers reframed progress to include the level of competency (proficiency) and improvement over time (growth) on five developmental metrics: communication, socialization, activities of daily living, internalizing and externalizing. key to the study was a shift from seeking a “good outcome” to simply “doing well.”
“it was encouraging to find that most asd children were doing well by 10 years old by some measure,” said study co-author peter szatmari , the psychiatrist in chief of the department of psychiatry and senior scientist, neurosciences and mental health at sickkids. “by using different criteria to track their development apart from those used to diagnose autism — such as asd symptoms and cognitive ability — we were able to reframe more holistically how we conceptualized progress in the autism field.
advertisement
roughly one in 66 canadian children and youth are diagnosed with the neurodevelopmental disorder, according to the public health agency of canada . asd encompasses a range of conditions that can impair the ability to communicate and navigate social interactions and cause repetitive behaviours that limit interests and activities. boys are four to five times more likely to be diagnosed with the disorder, which typically presents itself early in childhood. asd is viewed as a spectrum because of the wide range of symptoms, deficits and abilities affected children experience.
advertisement
finding work is difficult for adults with asd with 77 per cent of canadians on the spectrum unemployed, according to the canadian survey on disability 2017 . the spectrum works job fair aims to improve that number by bringing together dozens of canadian employers for a virtual job fair on april 8. the event, which grants access to skill workshops, resume and employment consulting — in addition to interviews with company recruiters — hopes to help autistic adults live richer, more productive lives through meaningful employment. the virtual nature of the fair increases its reach while accommodating the needs of those it serves.
dave yasvinski is a writer with healthing.ca