A new review of the literature recommends, inspite of US practice, that there is no value in screening very young children for autism. The authors of the study published in Pediatrics report that more harm than good might be achieved as misdiagnosis is common. Furthermore with no cure or adequate support in place little is gained by screening The National Autistic Society has published a report following a survey carried out on 450 parents of autistic children. The society is, as part of its campaign: You Need to Know, lobbying the government to improve Child & Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) for autistic children
A Californian study has linked autism to highly educated areas. Although is unclear why the link occurs, the research published in the journal Autism Research found that children of older parents who were highly educated were more likely to be autistic. Data of 2.5 million births during a five year period was analysed resulting in 10 clusters of autism.
The latest statistics on the prevalance of autism in adults further dispels the theory of a link to the MMR immunisation of children. The NHS Information Centre data found that there would be a higher number of children compared to adults suffering if the vaccine had any influence.
