Early Treatment May Cut Autism Signs

Experts have long thought that they can’t reliably diagnose autism until a child is 2 years old, but some recent studies have detected signs of the disorder among infants as young as 2 months old. Other studies have shown behavioral differences become more noticeable when the child is between 6 months and 1 year old. Now a study published in the Journal of Autism and Development Disorders suggests that if parents are willing and able to follow directed therapy aimed at improving interaction in babies, it could help decrease autism symptoms by age 3. Babies whose parents underwent the coaching showed far fewer autism-related indications at age 3 than peers whose parents declined to participate, and also scored higher than non-participants who later were diagnosed with autism, the study found.