Your child may be at an increased risk for an autism spectrum disorder if he fails to respond to his name by one year of age according to a new study from the M.I.N.D. institute at the University of California. However, early identification and intervention can result in overall better outcomes for children affected by the disorder, According to the April edition of Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine which is devoted to autism research. It’s hard to believe a study done at Harvard University and ABT Associates Inc, of Lexington, Mass. which indicates each person with autism cost society a whopping $3.2 million over a lifetime in direct and indirect cost which include lost potential productivity and adult day care making up most of the components of cost.

“Autism spectrum disorder seems to be becoming more prevalent, with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention CDC) recently announcing that one in every 150 American 8-year-olds have some form of the disorder.”
Children and adults with autism usually have difficulty with language skills and social skills and perform repetitive behaviors. It is difficult to get a diagnosis of autism for a child until the age of 3 or 4 years even though many parents report developmental problems before their child's first birthday. Hopefully these new findings will help to speed diagnosis, helping doctors in the general practitioner setting to spot the disorder early. Other clues which assist physicians in early diagnosis are head circumference, eye contact and language development. Another study indicates that younger siblings of children with autism seem to also have deficits in language and social areas. Obviously the earlier the detection of symptoms the earlier the opportunities are for intervention which may in turn benefit the all the children in a family.

Autism spectrum disorders can be a severe form or the milder form which is called Asperger syndrome. Children that have symptoms of either of these disorders, but doesn’t meet the specific criteria for either, then the diagnosis of pervasive developmental disorder not otherwise specified (PDD-NOS) is given.


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