autism spectrum disorders

With awareness ever increasing about young adults with autism transitioning into the workforce, a 2012 study by Washington University in St. Louis researcher Paul Shattuck continues to get national recognition. Shattuck’s June 2012 study “Postsecondary Education and Employment Among Youth With an Autism Spectrum Disorder” was one of 20 selected for inclusion in the 2012 IACC Summary of Advances in Autism Spectrum Disorder Research.

Hanging out with friends after school and on the weekends is a vital part of a teen’s social life. But for adolescents with autism spectrum disorders, social activity outside of school is a rarity, finds a new study by Paul Shattuck, PhD, autism expert and assistant professor at the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis.

Nearly half of adolescents with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) used a mental health service in the past year to address issues such as behavioral problems, anxiety and depression. A new study from the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis reinforces how important school-based services are for this group. The study found 49 percent received the service at schools, and that African-American adolescents and youths from lower income families were more likely to receive school-based services.

“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.” Shattuck is the lead author of an article on the timing of ASD identification in the current issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. Video available