Intervention research to benefit people with autism: How old are the participants?

We determined the reported ages of participants with autism (or autism spectrum disorders) in 146 intervention research studies published recently in four prominent journals. Most participants were between two and eight years of age and only 1.7% of them were 20 or more years of age. These findings suggest that the special needs of older people with autism have generated little interest among researchers, which is arguably an unfortunate oversight.

► Nearly 150 articles describing recent intervention research in people with autism were evaluated.
► Most of the participants, 85.8%, were male.
► Most of the participants, 63.1%, were between two and eight years of age.
► Fewer than 2% of the participants were 20 or more years of age.
► These data suggest that the special needs of older people with autism are largely ignored.