A Deeper Understanding of Autism: Study Conducted at Princeton University Finds 4 Types
- Liliana's Practice
- Jul 21
- 2 min read
Below is a quick summary of this study:
Who Was in the Study?
Researchers evaluated 5,392 kids with autism recruited from SPARK (https://sparkforautism.org/).
The participants were between 4 and 18 years old.
The researchers also checked their results by evaluating 861 more kids with autism recruited from Simon Simplex Collection (https://www.sfari.org/funded-project/the-simons-simplex-collection/).
They compared the data they collected from the kids diagnosed with autism with evaluations of about 2,000 kids not diagnosed with autism, who were siblings of research participants.
What Tests Did the Researchers Do?
They asked parents to fill out long questionnaires about their child’s behavior, emotions, and development.
They got DNA samples from participants, so they could study their genes.
What Did the Researchers Discover?
Researchers discovered that not all kids diagnosed with autism had the same presentation. In fact, they found four different types of patterns— so they divided autism into four types:
Type with Social & Behavioral Challenges (about 37%)
Trouble with social skills, talking, and repetitive behaviors.
Many also had ADHD, anxiety, or OCD.
These kids usually hit milestones (like walking/talking) on time.
Mixed Type with Developmental Delays (about 19%)
These kids were late to walk or talk.
They didn’t usually have anxiety or other mental health conditions.
Their autism signs were more mixed.
Type with Moderate Challenges (about 34%)
These kids had milder autism traits.
Their development was mostly on track.
They had fewer other issues.
Broadly Affected Type (about 10%)
These kids had lots of challenges — delays in walking/talking, strong behavior issues, and multiple mental health concerns.
What Did the Genes Show?
Each group had different kinds of gene changes.
Some kids, primarily in Broadly Affected Type had brand-new gene changes (not from their parents).
Others, primarily those of Mixed Type, had inherited changes from their parents.
In some kids, the gene changes were active before birth, and in others, they showed up later in childhood.
Why Is This Important?
This proves that autism is not just one thing — it has different types.
It could help doctors figure out sooner what kind of support each child needs.
It moves us closer to personalized care — where each child gets help based on their own unique needs.
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