The authors saw decreases over time in the broad domains of communication, social reciprocity, and repetitive behaviors and stereotyped interests. They looked at 32 specific symptoms within those domains.

They also evaluated broader maladaptive behaviors not specific to autism, such as aggression and self-injury.

They found that "for all major symptoms, the percentage of people who improved was always greater than the percentage who worsened," Dr. Shattuck said. "If there was significant symptom change over time, it was always in the direction of improvement, though there was always a group in the middle that showed no change. The mean never went down."

In terms of percentages, the largest changes were decreases in repetitive behaviors and stereotyped interests. For example, there was an 18.3% decrease in mean scale scores for circumscribed interests, a 15.8% decline in unusual preoccupations, and a 15.8% decline in unusual sensory interests.

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