Children should be screened for autism twice by the time they are two years old to look for symptoms such as babies who don’t babble at nine months and one-year-olds who don’t point to toys.

That’s the advice from the American Academy of Pediatrics in two reports the group presented at its annual meeting in San Francisco Monday.

The advice is meant to help both parents and doctors spot autism sooner so that therapy can begin as soon as possible. While there is no cure for autism, experts say early therapy can lessen its severity.

The reports list numerous warning signs that are absolute indications for immediate evaluation. They include:

* no babbling or pointing or other gesture by 12 months;
* no single words by 16 months;
* no two-word spontaneous phrases by 24 months;
* loss of language or social skills at any age.

Earlier, subtle signs that that could lead to earlier diagnosis include:

* not turning when the parent says the baby’s name;
* not turning to look when the parent points says, “Look at…” and not pointing themselves to show parents an interesting object or event;
* lack of back and forth babbling;
* smiling late; and
* failure to make eye contact with people.

The doctors also want to warn parents that not all children who display a few of the symptoms are autistic. They note that just because a child likes to line up toy cars or likes to repeatedly stroke a favourite stuffed animal doesn’t mean they have the developmental disorder - especially if they’re also interacting socially and also communicating well…

Source: CTV.ca, Canada
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