Autism in children is on the rise. A new study could turn out to be a breakthrough in diagnosing this brain disorder that leaves children often detached and emotionally disturbed. Healthcast reporter, Janet Wu has the story on this new way of "Detecting Autism".
Anyone, who has an autistic child, knows that early detection and intervention are critical.
Karen Broughton, Parent
"The earlier they are diagnosed and given treatment the better the outcome."
For Karen Broughton of Littleton, her son Andrew wasn't diagnosed until his symptoms were fully developed, causing him to miss an important head start.
Karen Broughton
"We missed all of early intervention, totally, I never heard of early intervention… Unless someone tells you anything, you just assume everything is fine."
Now, doctors at the University of California San Diego may have discovered an early warning sign, which could detect autism sooner than ever before. Instead of observing behavior, they looked at brain growth.
Dr. Eric Courchesne, Psychiatrist, UCSD
"Our study is the first to discover brain abnormalities in the first year of life in autism."
Dr. Courchesne's team of researchers mapped the rate of head growth in 48 children with some form of autism. What they found was surprising.
Here are the normal growth charts for infants up to 14 months, in the 10th, 50th and 90th percentiles. Courchesne discovered that most infants, who later developed autism, started with smaller than average brains, which then grew faster and larger than normal.
Dr. Eric Courchesne
"The infants that show the most rapid rate of growth turned out to be those who later had the more severe form of autism."
However, the study points out that not all infants with rapid brain growth will later have autism, nor will babies with regular growth be completely clear of developing the disorder.
Dr. Margaret Bauman, Autism Research Foundation
"There are many reasons for children to have large head circumferences and to simply look at quote, rapid growth, and say, oops this one's going to be autistic is probably not appropriate yet."
Dr. Margaret Bauman has been studying the connection of autism to the central nervous system for over 20 years, including an ongoing study with Harvard's Brain Bank. She maintains that the most accurate way to determine if a child is autistic is to observe these three things:
"Putting head circumference in context with everything else we've come up with, probably is much more important than simply head circumference alone. But it is an important thing that we need to look at."Dr. Margaret Bauman
More research is also welcomed by those on the front lines.
Karen Broughton
"I don't know if they can come up with one reason, there could be multiple reasons for the kids that are like this… You always want to know more about it."
With each new finding, researchers slowly close in on the cause of this challenging condition.
For more information:
Abstract to Dr. Eric Courchesne's study:
http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/abstract/290/3/337
The Autism Research Foundation:
http://www.ladders.org/tarf/tarfresearch.htm
Ladders Clinic - Wellesley, MA:
http://www.ladders.org/ladders/index.html
Upcoming events in and around Boston:
9th Annual Trends in Autism Conference
Friday, October 24 - Sunday, October 26, 2003
Sheraton- Newton Hotel
320 Washington Street, Newton, MA
sponsors - The Autism Research Foundation, LADDERS Clinic, MassGeneral Hospital for Children, Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital Network.
For information call 617-414-7012
Kenneth Oliver Memorial Run - TBA
The young man in our story, Andrew Broughton, age 13, has a love for electronics and is handy with power tools. He's also quite a poet. He's a sample of his work:
Andy
Andy
Caring
Loving
Friendly
Wishes to play Print Shop
Dreams of Ensemble II
Wants to stay in bed
Who wonders what's going on
Who fears bees and homework
Who is afraid of heights
Who likes summer vacation
Who believes in always telling the truth
Who loves computers
Who loves boats
Who plans to mow the grass
Who plans to build places in the future
Whose final destination is home.
