Children may develop autism-related social and academic problems in middle school years.

Children with autism may have social and academic difficulties in elementary and middle school. There may be many reasons for these problems. In some cases, the problems may come from symptoms of autism. In this article, the author answered a question from a parent of a 10-year-old girl. The girl's older brother was diagnosed with autism, but she was not. The mother described her social and reading difficulties. She also said that her daughter's problems seemed to be getting worse as she gets older. The author said the mother should get the daughter a full psychological and occupational therapy assessment. She told the mother to ask the school to provide testing and appropriate services.