67 Developmental changes of autistic symptoms SHIRLEY FECTEAU Hôpital Rivière-des-Prairies, Montréal, Canada LAURENT MOTTRON Hôpital Rivière-des-Prairies, Montréal, Canada CLAUDE BERTHIAUME Hôpital Rivière-des-Prairies, Montréal, Canada JACOB A. BURACK Hôpital Rivière-des-Prairies, Montréal, Canada ABSTRACT The study examined developmental changes in autistic symptoms retrospectively in a sample of 28 verbal children and ado- lescents with autism. Individuals with Asperger syndrome, PDD-NOS, and related medical conditions were not included in the study.We compared autistic symptoms present at the retrospective assessment and during the 4- to 5-year age period using the ADI–R. Our findings revealed a significant improvement in the three domains relevant for the diagnosis of autism, independent of age or IQ level. Improvement occurred in more symptoms from the social than the communication domain, and for more symptoms from the latter than the restricted interest and repetitive behavior domains. Finally, several ADI–R symptoms decreased in prevalence or even improved with develop- ment, suggesting they are developmentally specific. The finding that improvement was not linked to level of functioning and was found in individuals still positive for a diagnosis of autism suggests that improvement belongs to the ‘natural history’ of the handicap ADDRESS Correspondence to LAURENT MOTTRON , MD , PHD , Clinique spécialisée des Troubles Envahissants du Développement, Hôpital Rivière-des-Prairies, Montréal (PQ), Canada H1E 1A4. e-mail: mottronl@istar.ca Behavioral profiles of pervasive developmental disorders (PDD) may change considerably throughout development. These changes are often so exten- sive that they are cited as evidence against the utility of diagnoses (Oliver et al., 2000) and as examples of the need to modify the currently static, classificatory systems for developmental disorders (Mottron and Burack, 2000). Yet, the nature and chronology of these changes are essential to the autism © 2003 SAGE Publications and The National Autistic Society Vol 6(4) 67–81; 031015 1362-3613(200303)7:1 KEYWORDS ADI–R; autism; developmental changes; repetitive behaviors; restricted interests 52P 05fecteau (ds) 11/29/02 11:41 AM Page 67