There is still a lot to know about Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), one of the most researched disorders. Experts and researchers have long been suggesting the early screening of children and enrolling them in behavioral therapy, especially if they exhibit symptoms early on.
The younger the better, these experts conclude, and a recent study has pushed the age even earlier: infancy. This study, which involved a small number of infants as young as six months old, studied whether or not these children exhibited autism symptoms by the time they reached the age of four. The children were provided with therapy administered by their parents.
Because of the extremely young age of these children (6 to 15 months old), diagnosing them with autism early on was not an option. Instead, the researchers simply identified them based on the number and severity of their ASD symptoms.
The results of the study revealed that children who had more symptoms and had greater levels of symptom severity were at a greater risk of developing autism in the later years of their childhood.
According to psychiatry professor Sally J. Rogers, the effects of autism vary from one child to another, and so do interventions. Rogers is a co-author of the study. "We believe that learning happens the most rapidly early in life," Rogers added. This gives less opportunity for the behaviors linked to autism to develop.
This particular study was done by researchers from the University of California Davis MIND Institute.
In a similar study, an older group of children aged 18-30 month-olds were examined. The children were given 20 hours of social and behavioral therapy per week by a clinician. Five hours of therapy were provided by the parents. After two years, it was found that the group who received therapy showed greater progress and improvement than the control group.
Studies like these have created a demand from parents for intensive behavioral therapy for their children, willing to give out thousands of dollars for their children's welfare.