Quasi-autistic patterns following severe early global privation. English and Romanian Adoptees (ERA) Study Team
Assessments at ages four and six compared 111 children adopted into UK families from Romania with 52 UK domestic adoptees. Some Romanian adoptees showed autistic-like patterns, and others showed milder features; these patterns were absent in the comparison sample. Autistic-like features were associated with longer deprivation and greater cognitive impairment, although some features improved by age six.
Limitations: The paper uses the historical term “quasi-autistic”. This specific deprivation cohort cannot establish causes of autism in adoptees generally. This cohort experienced extreme early institutional deprivation and does not represent adoptees generally. Participants overlap with other ERA publications.
- Research type
- Longitudinal comparative cohort study
- Source reviewed
- Abstract
- Peer reviewed
- Yes
- Age group
- Children
Study context and review
Age group as recorded: Children
Adoption context: Intercountry adoption from Romanian institutions; UK domestic-adoption comparison
Programme: English and Romanian Adoptees Study
Institutional context: No relationship identified in the material checked
No adoption-sector organisational relationship identified in the bibliographic material screened. This is not confirmation of institutional independence; affiliations, funding and conflicts were not comprehensively audited.
Bibliographic screening. Bibliographic relationships are not a bias or safety rating.
Topics: autism, cognitive development, institutional care, institutional deprivation, intercountry adoption, longitudinal, neurodivergence, UK research
Review scope: Source checked: Abstract. This does not imply full-text or independent human verification.
Country as recorded: United Kingdom; Romania (origin)
- Funding
- Not yet checked for this entry
- Commissioner
- Not yet checked for this entry
- Funder role
- Not yet checked for this entry
- Declared conflicts
- Not yet checked for this entry
- Recruitment
- Not yet checked for this entry
- Adoptee involvement
- Not yet checked for this entry
Entry: study_16bc57c9b554ad9c