How do you recognize autism in a young child?

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the latest reports on the incidence of autism in children are 1 in every 150. Autism is a severe developmental disorder in which a child withdraws into themselves and seems unable to process information from the outside world. Most children with autism may look “normal” to the eye, but they exhibit behavior that is puzzling compared to children of the same age. Autism also affects a child’s ability to communicate.

Learn more about childhood autism

Recent studies show that the best treatment outcome is in children who have received early medical intervention. Today, in medical practice, autism can be diagnosed at about the age of three. Autism is difficult to diagnose at too early an age because appropriate tests have not yet been developed. The fact is that autistic behavior is similar to the behavior or symptoms of other diseases that are similar to autism.

Autism and Heredity

Researchers in the US have found new evidence of a link between autism and maternal autoimmune disorders. Older studies have already pointed to a link between autism and maternal autoimmune disorders such as type 1 diabetes and rheumatoid arthritis. But a new study published online in Pediatrics describes a link between autism and celiac disease.

Celiac disease (or gluten enteropathy) is an autoimmune disorder that affects people's ability to digest gluten, a protein found in wheat, rye, barley or other foods.

According to the study, mothers with autoimmune disorders are three times more likely to have a child with autism. The study also found that mothers with a hereditary condition called type 1 diabetes are more likely to have a child with autism.

This research could bring the global medical community one step closer to understanding the causes of autism.

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Five Behaviors That Indicate Autism

The National Institute of Child Health and Development in the United States warns of five childhood behaviors that require further evaluation to determine if a child has autism. The five behaviors include:

1. The child does not pronounce syllables until he is one year old
2. He doesn't babble until he's 12 months old.
3. A child under one year old does not make any gestures (does not point at anything with a finger, waves his arms, does not grab a toy)
4. The child does not say a single word until 16 months
5. The baby does not say a single phrase until he is two years old.

It is important to remember that if your child exhibits any or all of these signs, it does not mean that he or she has autism. It simply means that medical testing is needed to identify any developmental delays in the child.

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Below is a list of some examples of early signs of autism.

• Language and speech delays
• The child cannot explain what he wants
• The child does not pick up anything with his fingers
• The baby spends a lot of time lining up blocks or putting things in a certain order.
• The child is not interested in other children
• The child behaves as if he is deaf in the company of people
• The child does not smile when someone smiles at him
• Baby has poor eye contact or refuses eye contact
• Loss of any developed skill or language

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New research into the appearance of children with autism

Children with autism may have wider eyes and less defined facial features, according to a new study from the University of Missouri.

By analyzing 3-D images of children with autism and comparing them to images of children without psychological or physical disorders, researchers found some common features in the facial features of children with autism. In a study of boys with autism, the researchers found that children with autism:

• wide face with wide eyes
• the middle part of the face (cheeks and nose) is nominally shorter
• wider mouth and nasolabial septum (distance between the nose and upper lip)

Lead author of the study, Christina Aldridge, said: "Children with other disorders such as Down syndrome and alcoholic child syndrome have very distinct facial features. Autism is much more subtle. You can't pick these little ones out of a crowd of kids, but you can identify them mathematically." The study could lead scientists to discover how autism develops.

If you suspect your child may have a developmental delay, contact your doctor right away. Many children with autism go on to live full lives. There are programs that can help these children and their families better understand and cope with autism.