There already exists some evidence of the benefits of early intervention autism programs. Though these benefits are yet to be fully realized, but by detecting the early symptoms of autism at the earliest age possible, children can be treated of autism. Also it will help the families to receive advice and support to help them adjust and respond to the child's difficulties.
For now autism in infants is not as easily recognized as they are when the child is older. Parents worry about their children. When they notice signs and symptoms of autism they may dismiss them thinking that the child is "just a bit slow developing". But a psychologist, Philip Teitelbaum, a Graduate Research Professor at the University of Florida, is already researching early signs of autism in infants with the ultimate goal of enabling children to begin treatment for the disorder early enough to curtail and possibly even reverse its effects.
But What Symptoms Of Autism Should You Look For In Infants And Toddlers?
Parents could help in early detection of autism if they will just take simple guides like checking if the child is hitting all the normal milestones of development. There is an excellent guide from the Centre of Disease Control that gives all these milestones from birth to five years (Learn the Signs). Your doctor or health professional will be able to give you more information. Though the difficulty in using this method in detecting autism in infants is that some children do develop slower than others. This therefore means that a few weeks late reaching one particular milestone is nothing to worry about. When a child is late over a range of these milestones however specialist advice should be sought.
Besides, children with autism and other autism spectrum disorders typically display a range of identifiable symptoms. By being aware of these early signs of autism, parents can help spot the disorder at an earlier age, which greatly improves a child's overall prognosis. There is growing evidence that it is possible to spot autism in infants. It may not be possible to formally diagnose autism at this stage as Autism is usually not diagnosed until the ages of 24-36 months. But by comparing their child to other children and noticing the differences parents can easily recognize the traits of autism in infants.
Listed below is a checklist of the expected development of a normal infant.
By six months old infant we would expect to see the child smiling and reacting to their parent’s presence.
By the age of nine months the same child would reciprocate their parents smile.
By the time the child reached one year old we would expect it to be babbling and pointing to objects that attracted its attention.
By sixteen months a child can usually use single words.
By the age of 2 years should be able to use two word phrases.
It must be remembered that all children are individuals and as such develop at varying stages. Some children with autism develop normally and then start to lose their skills.
Similarly a group of British researchers have developed a behavior checklist that may help identify toddlers at risk for autism so they can get treatment earlier.
The researchers developed a questionnaire called the Checklist for Autism in Toddlers, or CHAT, that can be used by parents and health care workers to identify toddlers who are at risk for developing autism, pervasive developmental disorder, and language disorders.
The checklist, just like the list shown above, focuses on behaviors that are usually missing in children with autism: interacting or playing with others, showing interest in things around them, and communication through language or pointing.
The researchers are very on the use of this checklist as they noted that the checklist is a screening tool only, and children identified through the screening tool require more detailed examination by experts.
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