Research shows wide age gap between possible and actual autism diagnosis

		VIDEO: Research from Paul Shattuck at the George Warren Brown School of Social Work at Washington University in St. Louis finds that the average age for children being diagnosed with autism... Click here for more information.

"Timely identification and diagnosis of an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) can impact a child's development and is the key to opening the door to the services and therapies available to children with autism," says Paul Shattuck, Ph.D., assistant professor at the George Warren Brown School of Social Work at Washington University in St. Louis. "Unfortunately, our research shows that the average age of autism diagnosis is nearly six years old, which is three to four years after diagnosis is possible."