Autism Diagnosis Beyond Early Childhood: Developmental Trajectories, Late Identification, and Neurobiological Markers

Although autism is increasingly diagnosed during adolescence and young adulthood, diagnostic frameworks, tools, and neurobiological evidence have been developed primarily with young children. This Research Topic addresses a clinically significant gap: how do diagnostic presentations, developmental histories, and neurobiological profiles differ in individuals identified beyond early childhood, and how can emerging neurobiological evidence improve diagnostic precision and differential diagnosis across developmental stages? By integrating clinical, epidemiological, and neuroscientific perspectives, this collection aims to advance diagnostic practice for autistic children, adolescents, and young adults across the developmental spectrum.Autism prevalence has risen substantially over the past 25 years, reflecting both improved identification practices and broader conceptualizations of the condition. While diagnostic research and clinical infrastructure have historically centred on early childhood, a growing proportion of autistic individuals - particularly girls and women, those without intellectual disability, and those with complex co-occurring presentations - receive their first diagnosis during adolescence or young adulthood. These individuals frequently present with more complex psychiatric histories, higher reported rates of camouflaging, and diagnostic uncertainty arising from phenotypic overlap with ADHD, anxiety, depression, and other mood and psychiatric disorders. Advances in neuroimaging, genetics, and psychophysiology offer promising avenues for improving diagnostic accuracy and supporting differential diagnosis across developmental stages.This Research Topic invites contributions on autism diagnosis from early childhood through young adulthood, with particular emphasis on late and missed diagnoses in adolescence and on differential diagnosis from overlapping conditions. Themes of interest include: neurobiological markers - genetic, neural, and physiological - contributing to diagnostic precision; differential diagnosis from ADHD, anxiety, mood disorders, and other neurodevelopmental conditions with overlapping features; clinical and developmental trajectories associated with age of identification; the role of camouflaging in delayed diagnostic recognition across gender and age groups; psychometric properties of diagnostic instruments across developmental stages; and health equity in autism identification. We welcome Original Research, Systematic Reviews, Meta-Analyses, Clinical Trial reports, and Perspective articles across behavioral, neuroimaging, and qualitative methodologies.Please note the following regarding adult populations and cross-listing:• In line with the scope of Frontiers in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, studies examining children, adolescents, and young adults are welcome. • Please note that adult-only submissions are welcome to this Research Topic only where they fall clearly within the cross-listed scope of Frontiers in Developmental Psychology, specifically the Cognitive Development and/or Social and Emotional Development sections. This means that studies with exclusively adult samples must be framed around developmental questions concerning cognitive processes such as attention, memory, learning, executive function, language, or social cognition, and/or social-emotional processes such as emotional regulation, social behavior, social relationships, or social functioning in context. Adult-only manuscripts that focus primarily on adult psychiatry, clinical management, service delivery, comorbidity, or biomarker findings without a clear developmental cognitive or social-emotional contribution are outside the scope of this Research Topic.If you were not directly invited by the Topic Editors but wish to submit, you are welcome to do so; however, please contact us at childandadolescentpsychiatry@frontiersin.org before submitting and wait for our confirmation that your manuscript is within scope.Topic Editor Michael J. Morrier is the CEO of Morrier Consulting LLC, a private clinical practice that provides autism support services. All other Topic Editors declare no competing interests with regard to the Research Topic subject. Topic editors: Michael J Morrier, Elissar Andari, Amanda Platner, Allison Schwartz Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/80917/autism-diagnosis-beyond-early-childhood-developmental-trajectories-late-identification-and-neurobiological-markers