Clinical characteristics of mild autism in adults.

Clinical descriptions of 14 adults with mild autism are presented. Structured questionnaires, extensive medical and social histories, and mental status examinations were conducted independently by several clinicians who concurred with the diagnoses of autism. These 14 patients demonstrate (1) that mild forms of autism can remain undiagnosed into adulthood; (2) that developmental histories and patients' reports may not provide evidence of developmental delays and characteristic symptoms during childhood despite their presence at adult mental status examination; (3) that mild previously undetected autism should be considered in the differential diagnoses of perplexing adult patients.