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ANN ARBOR, Mich., Oct. 14 (UPI) — U.S. researchers say they are beginning to detect behaviors and symptoms of autism that may make earlier diagnosis — and intervention — possible.

Brooke Ingersoll of Michigan State University said autism is normally diagnosed between ages 2 and 3, but if physicians could detect autism spectrum disorders in babies as young as 12 months, it might be possible to help them earlier — and perhaps even stop them from developing autism.

“In the field, there’s this new excitement,” Ingersoll said in a statement. “We’re starting to get a picture of what autism looks like in the first years of life.”

Results are coming from studies that tracked large numbers of children ages 6 months to 3 years, when a formal diagnosis of autism could be determined, Ingersoll said.

“The group of children that eventually develop autism spectrum disorders looks different from typically-developing kids,” Ingersoll said.

For example, at 12 months, children who will later develop autism are less likely to show “joint attention behaviors” paying attention to both a toy and another person, Ingersoll said.

If young children have problems with social behaviors, it may then explain some of the later problems in autism. for example, if they don’t imitate, that could help explain why they have difficulty with language later, Ingersoll said.

The findings are published in the Current Directions in Psychological Science.

I’m a well seasoned autism mom and am often asked questions about autism. since autism spectrum disorders are complex, I still stumble over my answers, so have recently turned to a clarifying source: individuals who are on the autism spectrum.

I asked Kerry Magro, a young man on the autism spectrum, to share his most frequently asked questions and comments. He’s passionate about raising awareness about what it is like to have autism, and his insights are illuminating:

1) People with autism cannot live a normal life.

In today’s society we label “normal” as “ordinary” or “no issues”. Life is about accepting challenges and being able to continue to grow as a person. can autistic individuals live a normal life? Yes definitely. do they need too? Not at all.

2) I couldn’t love someone with autism, they are just too different.

To deny someone of love based on a disability is to deny yourself the ability to divulge your life and your cultures. The world is full of diverse individuals, all who deserve love. It’s impossible to live life without being loved.

3) People with autism only have the capability of being loved and being in love with those who are also autistic.

This is a common misconception, but it’s far from the truth. many individuals with autism have difficulty expressing love but they do love, and not only others on the autistic spectrum. I was once told by a girlfriend when she broke up with me that, “I think you should be around people more like yourself.” it is my mission to raise awareness in this area!

4) Autism or not, people are people, all with distinct characteristics that make them unique.

Amen! no one case of autism is ever the same. I’d rather be “unique” than “normal” any day of the week.

5) Isn’t autism a disease that could be spread through vaccines in flu shots?

There is still no way of telling what causes autism, but scientific studies have ruled out the connection between vaccines and the onset of autism. at present, most researchers think autism is caused by a combination of genetic and environmental factors. It’s quite possible that different people’s symptoms have different causes. Autism is a neurological disorder that can be treated, not cured, and it is not a disease.

6) do more white children have autism than black children?

According to the CDC, Autism Spectrum Disorders occur in all racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic groups, yet are on average 4 to 5 times more likely to occur in boys than in girls. however, we need more information on some less studied populations and regions around the world.

7) is autism only a communication disorder?

Autism causes developmental problems in the areas of social interaction, speech, language and communication, and behavioral functions.

Different individuals show different traits on the autism spectrum. for me most of my sensitivity/ traits were in regards to difficulty dealing with sensory issues especially touch and sounds.

none of us are perfect at communication so doesn’t that mean there is a little autism in all of us?

No one is perfect at communicating and no one is perfect at having a social life. still, it should be acknowledged that people with an autism spectrum disorder have to work harder than most every single day to learn appropriate social and communication skills.

I’d like to know: (Laura talking)

a) which questions are you frequently asked about having autism?

b) What questions do you have about autism?

c) as a parent, which questions about autism do you find the most difficult to answer?

Kerry Magro is a recent graduate of Seton Hall University,where he majored in Sports Management. He’s writing a self help book based on his own experiences with autism called, “Autism: The College Spectrum”. Kerry also is a staffer for Autism Speaks and writes on their official blog. you can email him at kerrymagro@gmail.com and follow him on Facebook and/or twitter

Got autism questions? need resources? Email me here citybights@sfgate.com and I will do my very best to help.

FOLLOW ME on FACEBOOK and TWITTER.

In case you wondered, I’m happy to talk to your group.GO HERE to learn more.

Read the first three chapters of A REGULAR GUY: GROWING UP WITH AUTISM here.

Posted by: Laura Shumaker (Email) | August 06 2011 at 03:33 PM

What is autism?

Autism – or more precisely the autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) – represent a broad group of developmental disorders characterized by impaired social interactions, problems with verbal and nonverbal communication, and repetitive behaviors or severely limited activities and interests.

The ASDs include a variety of medical autism diagnoses, which vary in the severity of the individual symptoms and include autistic disorder (sometimes called classical autism), Asperger’s syndrome and a general diagnostic category called Pervasive Developmental Disorders (PDD).

Autism has become the most commonly diagnosed childhood developmental disorder. according to the Centers for Disease Control Prevention in 2007, autism spectrum disorders now affect 1 in every 150 children in the United States. Statistics from the U.S. Department of Education and other government agencies indicate that autism diagnoses are increasing at the rate of 10 to 17 percent per year.

Autism can affect any individual and is not based on ethnic, racial or social background. The incidence of autism is the same all around the world. it is four times more common in boys than in girls.

What are the symptoms of autism?

Autism usually develops before 3 years of age and affects each individual differently and to varying degrees. it ranges in severity from relatively mild social and communicative impairments to a severe disability requiring lifelong parental, school and societal support.

The hallmark symptom of autism is impaired social interaction. Children with autism may fail to respond to their name and often avoid eye contact with other people. they have difficulty interpreting what others are thinking or feeling because they don’t understand social cues provided by tone of voice or facial expressions and they don’t watch other people’s faces to pick up on these cues.

Many children with autism engage in repetitive movements such as rocking, spinning, twirling or jumping, or in self-abusive behavior such as hand biting or head-banging.

Of children being diagnosed now with an autism spectrum disorder, about half will have mental retardation defined by nonverbal IQ testing and 25 percent will also develop seizures. Though most children show signs of autism in the first year of life, about 30 percent will seem fine and then regress in both their language and social interactions at around 18 months of age.

About 30 percent of children with autism have physical signs of some alteration in early development such as physical features that differ from their parents (sometimes called dysmorphic features), small head size (microcephaly) or structural brain malformations.

How is autism diagnosed?

Diagnosis of autism is based on standardized testing plus a clinical evaluation by an autism specialist. These professionals are usually psychologists, psychiatrists, developmental pediatricians, pediatric neurologists or medical geneticists.

The diagnosis of autism is made when there are a specific number of symptoms as defined by the Diagnostic and Standard Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV). some commonly used diagnostic tests are the CARS (Childhood Autism Rating Scale), the ABC (Autism Behavior Checklist) and the GARS (Gilliam Autism Rating Scale). Formal diagnosis by an autism specialist usually depends on completing the ADOS (Autism Diagnostic Observation Scale), and ADI-R (Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised). The CHAT (Checklist for Autism in Toddlers) is often used in pediatrican’s offices to screen for autism symptoms.

When physical features, small head size or brain malformations are present or there is a family history of relatives with autism, genetic testing such as chromosome analysis and single-gene testing is done.

What is the treatment for autism?

There is currently no cure for autism. however, autism can be managed and shaped at a young age, even as early as pre-school. Early intensive therapy can have a positive effect on development later in life.

Treatment of autism involves medical and behavioral therapies to help children with conversational language and social interactions. Treatment also involves helping children decrease their repetitive, self-stimulatory behaviors, tantrums and self-injurious behavior.

Medications can help treat specific symptoms such as aggressive or self-injurious behavior, inattention, poor sleep and repetitive behaviors. however, no medications are autism specific and medications should be used in conjunction with a family-centered, behavioral and educational program.

Is autism inherited?

Scientists are not certain what causes autism, but it’s likely that both genetics and environment play a role.

The causes of autism may be divided into ‘idiopathic’, (of unknown cause) which is the majority of cases, and ’secondary,’ in which a chromosome abnormality, single-gene disorder or environmental agent can be identified. Approximately 15 percent of individuals with autism can be diagnosed with secondary autism; the remaining 85 percent have idiopathic autism.

Exposure during pregnancy to rubella (German measles), valproic acid, and thalidomide, are recognized causes of secondary autism; however, it remains unclear whether those who develop autism after such an exposure are also genetically predisposed.

The search for new environmental causes of secondary autism has centered primarily on childhood immunizations given around the time that regressive-onset autism is recognized. both childhood immunizations and mercury in thimerosal, which was used as a preservative in some routine immunizations until 2001, have both been under scrutiny; however, no scientific evidence for a relationship between vaccines and autism has been identified.

Researchers have identified a number of genes associated with autism. Studies of people with autism have found irregularities in several regions of the brain. other studies suggest that people with autism have abnormal levels of serotonin or other neurotransmitters in the brain. These abnormalities indicate that autism usually results from the disruption of normal brain development early in fetal development caused by defects in genes that control brain growth and that regulate how neurons communicate with each other. These are preliminary findings and require further study.

The risk that a brother or sister of an individual who has idiopathic autism will also develop autism is around 4 percent, plus an additional 4 to 6 percent risk for a milder condition that includes language, social or behavioral symptoms. Brothers have a higher risk (about 7 percent) of developing autism, plus the additional 7 percent risk of milder autism spectrum symptoms, over sisters whose risk is only about 1 to 2 percent.

When the cause of autism is a chromosome abnormality or a single-gene alteration, the risk that other brothers and sisters will also have autism depends on the specific genetic cause.

Autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) are usually diagnosed by the time a child is age 3. A diagnosis by that age may mean getting early treatment, but since there is no cure for ASDs, those affected may exhibit lifelong symptoms of autism.

At ages 4 to 5 years, normally developing children are becoming energetic and demanding preschoolers and kindergartners. at this age, dressing, undressing, and self-feeding are part of daily activities, as is swinging and climbing, somersaulting and hopping.

Language is also developing rapidly at this age; normally developing children can retell parts of stories and tell longer stories and speak in sentences of more than five words. Signs of autism at this age may be language delays (while some children with ASDs may have only slight language delays, about 40% of children with ASDs do not speak at all). other signs of autism at this age are being able to use some words and then “losing” them or repeating words over and over. Difficulty understanding body language or tone of voice or not being able to participate in a give-and-take conversation may be signs of autism.

Normally developing 4 to 5 year-olds are generally eager to please, want to be like their friends, and to be independent while also following rules. Children this age are coming into their own as unique individuals. A main impairment of children with ASDs is a social impairment that goes beyond simple “shyness” and is often combined with communication problems. Children with ASDs may not be interested in other people at all, or have trouble interacting with peers or imitating others. While all children struggle with taking turns and sharing, those with ASDs have a particularly difficult time with this concept.

While gross and fine motor skills have significantly developed at age 4 to 5, and normally developing children have a great deal of control over their movements, those affected by ASDs may exhibit repetitive motions. Rocking side to side, flapping the arms, or repeatedly turning a light off and on can be symptoms of ASDs.

In addition, some people with ASDs develop unusual routines and are upset by a change in routine.

Hyperactivity, aggressiveness, and self-injury are other behaviors that are associated with ASDs. Abnormal eating and sleeping habits, or laughing or crying at unusual times (or showing no emotion when you’d expect a reaction) are other symptoms of ASDs. Children with ASDs may fear harmless objects, but not be afraid of truly dangerous things.

Like all children, children with ASDs develop at different rates: some may exhibit language delays, others social delays. Autism is diagnosed based on observation of behavior, and often it is parents who are the first to notice behaviors that suggest an ASD.

If you are concerned that your child exhibits signs of an ASD, your first step should be to schedule an appointment with your pediatrician, who may refer you to a specialist for additional assessments. Early diagnosis is very important in securing the appropriate treatment and interventions for those affected by this disorder.