How Early Can We Detect Autistic Behaviors?

In a prospective study, social behaviors diminished in infants with autism spectrum disorders and increased in typically developing infants by age 1 year.

Early signs of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), including atypical development in socialization and communication, are now detected by pediatricians in children as young as 18 months (JW Pediatr Adolesc Med May 27 2009), and increasing evidence suggests that behavioral signs of ASD emerge during the first year of life. Investigators prospectively examined the onset of behavioral signs of autism in 25 infants who met ASD criteria at age 36 months and who were drawn from a larger longitudinal study of infant siblings of children with ASD. None of the older siblings with ASD had known genetic causes.

Social and communication behaviors were assessed at ages 6, 12, 18, 24, and 36 months using a standardized coding system from video recordings. The…

Reviewing Author

Martin T. Stein, MD

Disclosures

Consultant / Advisory boardPearson Neuroscience Advisory Board

Speaker’s bureauAmerican Academy of Pediatrics

RoyaltiesElsevier, Inc.

Editorial boardsJournal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics

Martin T. Stein, MD

Disclosures

Consultant / Advisory boardPearson Neuroscience Advisory Board

Speaker’s bureauAmerican Academy of Pediatrics

RoyaltiesElsevier, Inc.

Editorial boardsJournal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics