SchaferAutismReport: Doctors Seek Earlier Diagnosis for Autism

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Wednesday, May 28, 2008 Reader Supported Vol. 12 No. 79p

In This Issue:

RESEARCHDoctors Seek Earlier Diagnosis for Autism

PEOPLENate Tseglin is Going HomeOutrage Over Behavior of Florida TeacherAutistic Teen/Church UpdateAussie Mums Put Autism Issues On The Table

PUBLIC HEALTHNew Tool to Manage Your Child's Vaccine ScheduleChemicals Polluting Kids

EVENTS McCarthy & Jim Carrey Host the Historic Green Our Vaccines March and Rally in Washington DC June 4

COMMENTARYWakefield: Advances In Medical Science Demand Ongoing ScrutinyLETTERS

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RESEARCHDoctors Seek Earlier Diagnosis for Autismtinyurl.com/4nwwch Seattle -- When her toddler son seemed not to notice a door slamming nearby during his checkup, Jo thought nothing of it. Her husband, a Microsoft manager, also has an uncanny ability to block out his surroundings. A check of Ben's hearing after a nurse's prompt found nothing amiss. It wasn't until two years and one perceptive Montessori teacher later that his parents finally learned the cause of Ben's obliviousness: autism. "He didn't mix terribly well socially," Jo , of Sammamish, Wash., recalled ruefully. "But then, what 2-year-old boy does?" Autism typically isn't diagnosed until after age 2. Yet it may be detectable even in infancy _ before a baby is old enough to display telltale traits such as social ineptitude and compulsive preoccupations. Pioneering research at the University of Washington during the 1990s, for example, found that trained observers can spot, with remarkable accuracy, kids who were later diagnosed with autism by viewing videos of their first birthdays. Now University of Washington researchers are aiming to decipher those early clues in hopes of short-circuiting autism before it becomes full-blown. In January, they began an $11.3 million trial to identify latent signs of autism in infants for intensive behavioral therapy. It is the nation's first attempt to test a hypothesis that early intervention may actually prevent autism in high-risk infants by rewiring their brains. "We know the brain has a lot of potential to respond" to the right stimulation, said Sara Webb, a research assistant professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences and the principal investigator for the study at University of Washington Autism Center. The goal is "to teach parents to give the child that missing piece that he's not getting on his own."Skeptical Parents The study's very premise _ that autism may not be destiny _ has stirred unease and skepticism among some parents. They also fret that it may rekindle the discredited notion that autism is triggered by detached and unloving mothers. "I object to the message that if parents don't rush out like headless chickens before the child is X age, they've lost them," said Rudy, a mother and autism advocate from Falmouth, Mass. The implication is that "if only the mother spent more time bonding with the infant, that child will never develop autism," Rudy added. But University of Washington researchers say they're not laying any blame on parenting. The goal is akin to averting diabetes through vigilance in a person with a family history of the disease, said Annette Estes, associate director of the Autism Center and a study investigator. "If you are at risk for diabetes, you look for signs," Estes said. With autism, the genetic "risk factors are present at birth. What we are doing is heightening the parents' awareness." Though some parents report concerns early on, tiny babies by definition don't have autism. That's because they can't manifest such diagnostic symptoms as language deficits and repetitive rituals. Yet researchers suspect that babies exhibit subtle clues that precede overt symptoms. For instance, healthy babies react visibly to changes in a person's expression, such as switching from cooing to a sad face. A baby who doesn't seem to register the change may warrant watching, Estes said. "At 6 months, a baby has a limited repertoire of signs" of autism, she said. "The question is `What are the real early signs?'"How Study Will Proceed + Read more: tinyurl.com/4nwwch For rest of today's SAR click here:www.sarnet.org/frm/forsar.htm Today's SAR is provided through the support of paid subscription readers. - THANK YOU -

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Lenny Schafer editor@... The Schafer Autism Report is a non-profit corporation

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