To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what the average age at which a child receives a diagnosis of autism was in the latest period for which figures are available. (268161)

I have been asked to reply.

This information is not collected centrally.

In 2001, the Medical Research Council (MRC) undertook the first comprehensive review of the UK research into autism, called the MRC Review of Autism Research and is still considered to be a leading source of information about the causes and epidemiology of autism and autism spectrum disorders (ASDs).

The review report states at page 15:

“In a study of individuals aged 2 to over 40 years, the average age of diagnosis was 5 years for autism.”