How Do Babies Get Autism

Autisms Genetic Risk Factors

Research tells us that autism tends to run in families. Changes in certain genes increase the risk that a child will develop autism. If a parent carries one or more of these gene changes, they may get passed to a child . Other times, these genetic changes arise spontaneously in an early embryo or the sperm and/or egg that combine to create the embryo. Again, the majority of these gene changes do not cause autism by themselves. They simply increase risk for the disorder

Research Early Signs And Treatment

There’s been widespread controversy about a possible connection between vaccines and the soaring autism rates. Some parents of children whose autistic symptoms first appeared shortly after their measles-mumps-rubella immunization are convinced the shot was the cause, but repeated studies have failed to find scientific evidence. Although one small, heavily publicized British study published in 1998 suggested a link, 10 of the 13 authors publicly retracted the findings in March 2004, saying they were unreliable. The study, lead by Dr. Andrew Wakefield, only studied a small sample of 12 kids, eight of whom were diagnosed with autism. By early 2010, the same British journal, The Lancet, that published his findings retracted his study and in January 2011, the British Medical Journal publicly denounced Dr. Wakefield’s research as “fraudulent.” The British Medical Journalannounced that Dr. Wakefield had “falsified data” and tampered with his research results to give the MMR vaccine bad publicity. At the time of his study, Dr. Wakefield had been involved in a lawsuit against the manufacturers of the MMR vaccine and would have gained money if he’d won, making his research an obvious conflict of interest.

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What Doesnt Cause Autism

Bad parenting

There was a bleak period in history from the 1950s to 1970s when autism was believed to be a psychological disorder, and blamed on cold, uncaring parents, usually the mothers.

Fortunately, the myth of the ârefrigerator motherâ has been debunked by science, and autism is now recognised as a disorder of brain development with genetic links. Nothing you said or did as a parent caused your child to develop autism, so please donât listen to anyone who suggests otherwise.

Vaccines

Scores of scientific studies have effectively ruled out vaccines as a cause of autism. Concerns originally arose around two issues of Mercury and the MMR Vaccine

In 2014, a meta-analysis, combining the result of 10 studies and over 1.2 million children, found no link between vaccines and autism. The World Health Organization, the European Medicines Agency, the American Academy of Pediatrics and other leading international health groups have also concluded thereâs no link. Unfortunately, the belief persists among anti-vaccination campaigners, who are very vocal on the Internet. If you remain concerned about vaccines, arrange a time to talk your paediatrician or GP. Remember, Vaccines Save Lives!

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What Are The Signs And Symptoms Of Asd

Every person with ASD is unique, so the timing and severity of the first signs and symptoms can vary widely. Some children with ASD show signs within the first few months of life. In others, symptoms may not become obvious until 24 months or later. Some children with ASD appear to develop normally until around 18 to 24 months of age and then stop gaining new skills and/or start losing skills.

During infancy , a child may show symptoms that include:

• Limited or no eye contact
• No babbling
• Appearing not to hear
• Playing with toys in an unusual or limited manner
• Showing more interest in objects instead of people
• Starting language skills but then stopping or losing those skills
• Showing repetitive movements with their fingers, hands, arms or head

Up to 2 years of age, there may be continuing symptoms from infancy. A child may also:

• Focus only on certain interests
• Be unable to have reciprocal social interactions
• Move in unusual ways, such as tilting their head, flexing their fingers or hands, opening their mouth or sticking out their tongue
• Have no interest in playing with other children
• Repeat words or phrases without appearing to understand them
• Have behavioural issues, including self-injury
• Have trouble controlling their emotions
• Like to have things a certain way, such as always eating the same food

Possible signs of ASD at any age:

Screening Tools And Tutorials

There are some great screening tools and tutorials to help parents and carers spot the early warning signs for autism. Below are some we highly recommend. Please be mindful that they are just screening tools, and not a diagnosis.

Early autism detection – ASDetect

This is a free app that empowers parents and caregivers to assess the social attention and communication behaviours of their children younger than 2½ years .This video-led self-assessment app is based on comprehensive, rigorous, world-class research conducted at the Olga Tennison Autism Research Centre

The app guides parents and carers through each assessment using a combination of videos and questions, as well as activities that you can do with your child. Once you have completed an assessment, you receive both an on-screen result of either âlowâ or âhighâ likelihood of autism, as well as a comprehensive formal assessment results email. See more asdetect.org/

Early signs of autism tutorial Kennedy Krieger Institute

This free 9-minute video tutorial on ASD behavioural signs in one-year-olds. The tutorial consists of six video clips comparing toddlers who show no signs of ASD to toddlers who show early signs of ASD.

Each video is presented with voice-over explaining how the specific behaviours exhibited by the child, as they occur on screen, are either indicative of ASD or typical child development.

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What Causes Autism And Why Are More And More Kids Being Diagnosed With It

Does a friend or family member have a child with autism? Autism rates seem to be skyrocketing. Among children who are 8 years old, autism has nearly doubled from 1 in 150 to 1 in 68 for children born in 2002.

Autism is part of a larger group of related conditions, called autism spectrum disorders , all of which usually involve delayed verbal communication and difficulties in social interactions. Studies suggest that children with autism tend to have other problems with how their brain functions, with as many as 20-30% developing seizures or epilepsy.

Signs And Symptoms Of Autism

There are many signs and symptoms that could indicate a person has autism spectrum disorder. Not all adults or children with autism will have every symptom, and some adults and children without autism may display some of the same behaviors and symptoms.

People with autism spectrum disorder often have difficulties with communication, and connecting emotionally and socially with others. They may also process sensory information, such as sounds and smells, differently from other people. These differences can underlie some of the behavioral signs of autism that people may display.

When looking for early signs of autism spectrum disorder, there are developmental milestones that children are expected to reach by certain ages, such as babbling by four months old and being able to use simple sentences by two years old. If a child reaches these milestones later, or does not develop the skills at all, it may indicate a developmental disorder such as autism spectrum disorder.

Autism can be diagnosed by age two, though symptoms may be apparent much earlier.

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Signs Of Nonverbal Communication Difficulties

• Avoids eye contact.
• Uses facial expressions that dont match what they are saying
• Doesnt pick up on other peoples facial expressions, tone of voice, and gestures.
• Makes very few gestures . May come across as cold or robot-like.
• Reacts unusually to sights, smells, textures, and sounds. May be especially sensitive to loud noises. Can also be unresponsive to people entering/leaving, as well as efforts by others to attract the childs attention.
• Atypical posture, clumsiness, or eccentric ways of moving .

Children with autism spectrum disorder have trouble picking up on subtle nonverbal cues and using body language. This makes the give-and-take of social interaction very difficult.

Signs In The First Six Months Of Life

By the time your baby is 6 months old, they should be able to engage in some basic social interactions with the people who are caring for them most frequently. Absence of these interactions is one of the chief signs of autism during the first six months of a babys life. If your child isnt smiling at you or showing expressions of enjoyment by this age, this might be a clue that your baby may have some developmental delays, according to Helpguide.org. There is also some evidence that very young babies who do not seem interested in the faces of others are at a higher risk for autism. One study, performed by researchers at Yale, observed the amount of time infants spent looking at images of faces. More than two years later, researchers followed up with this same group of infants and found that those who went on to be diagnosed with autism were more likely to belong to the group of infants who spent less time looking at faces.

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How Is Asd Diagnosed

ASD symptoms can vary greatly from person to person depending on the severity of the disorder. Symptoms may even go unrecognized for young children who have mild ASD or less debilitating handicaps.

Autism spectrum disorder is diagnosed by clinicians based on symptoms, signs, and testing according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-V, a guide created by the American Psychiatric Association used to diagnose mental disorders. Children should be screened for developmental delays during periodic checkups and specifically for autism at 18- and 24-month well-child visits.

Very early indicators that require evaluation by an expert include:

• no babbling or pointing by age 1
• no single words by age 16 months or two-word phrases by age 2
• no response to name
• excessive lining up of toys or objects
• no smiling or social responsiveness

Later indicators include:

• impaired ability to make friends with peers
• impaired ability to initiate or sustain a conversation with others
• absence or impairment of imaginative and social play
• repetitive or unusual use of language
• abnormally intense or focused interest
• preoccupation with certain objects or subjects
• inflexible adherence to specific routines or rituals

Large Head Size Is A Red Flag

Recent findings published in the Journal of the American Medical Association suggest that the brains of children with autism develop differently from an early age. Researchers discovered that most infants who were later diagnosed with autism had small head circumferences at birth but had heads and brains much larger than normal by 6 to 14 months. “Some of them went all the way up to the 90th percentile in just a few months,” says study coauthor Natacha Akshoomoff, Ph.D., an assistant professor of psychiatry at the University of California, San Diego. Those who ended up with the most severe form of autism were found to have the most dramatic acceleration of brain growth during infancy.

Pediatricians don’t always measure head circumference at well-baby visits, so it’s wise to request it. However, don’t panic if your baby’s head size is above the norm. Some babies just have big heads. “Rapid head growth is not a way to diagnose autism,” Dr. Akshoomoff points out, “but it means that a child should be watched closely to be sure that she meets speech and behavioral milestones.”

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Kids Are Getting Diagnosed Sooner

There’s no laboratory or medical test for detecting autism, so doctors must rely on behavioral signs. In the past, many were reluctant to label a child as autistic until symptoms became obvious. “The average age for diagnosis had been about 3.5, with many children diagnosed much later,” says Amy Wetherby, Ph.D., director of the Center for Autism and Related Disabilities at Florida State University, in Tallahassee. But that’s changing.

One reason is that pediatricians are becoming more aware of autism. At the same time, autism specialists are better at identifying early telltale signs such as a lack of babbling or pointing. “Most children with autism will show some signs of developmental disruption by their first birthday,” says Rebecca Landa, Ph.D., an autism researcher at Baltimore’s Kennedy Krieger Institute.

And while no one is yet diagnosing autism in children that young, doctors can now make a reliable assessment by 24 months when a child’s brain is still rapidly developing. “If we can intervene while a child’s brain is very immature, it will be much easier to help change her behavior,” Dr. Wetherby says.

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Things That Dont Cause Autism

Everything from vaccines to vitamins has been blamed for causing autism so what do we believe? Here are four things that do not cause autism.

Everything from vaccines to vitamins has been blamed for causing autism but with all the myths flying around, how do we know what to believe?

Despite the common misconceptions, these four things that current research has shown do not cause autism.

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How Does Autism Affect A Childs Social Skills

A child with ASD has a hard time interacting with others. Problems with social skills are some of the most common signs. They might want to have close relationships but not know how.

If your child is on the spectrum, they might show some social symptoms by the time they’re 8 to 10 months old, including:

• They don’t respond to their name by their first birthday.
• Playing, sharing, or talking with other people donât interest them.
• They prefer to be alone.
• They avoid or reject physical contact, including hugging.
• They avoid eye contact.
• When theyâre upset, they donât like to be comforted.
• They donât understand emotions — their own or othersâ.
• They may not stretch out their arms to be picked up or guided with walking.

Common Signs Of Autism

Some of the more common signs that may indicate a person has autism include:

• Avoiding eye contact
• Delayed speech and communication skills
• Reliance on rules and routines
• Being upset by relatively minor changes
• Unexpected reactions to sounds, tastes, sights, touch and smells
• Difficulty understanding other peopleââ¬â¢s emotions
• Focusing on or becoming obsessed by a narrow range of interests or objects
• Engaging in repetitive behavior such as flapping hands or rocking
• Children not responding to their name by 12 months
• Children not pointing at distant objects by 14 months

Worried you or someone you know might have some of the signs of autism? The Ada app can help you check symptoms. or find out more about how it works.

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What Is A Spectrum Disorder

Autism is a spectrum disorder, which means that people can experience a wide range of symptoms and of varying severities. For example, a person with autism who is towards the high functioning range of the spectrum will have a good grasp of language, but a person towards the low functioning range of the spectrum may not speak at all.

As such, it is important to note that a person with autism spectrum disorder will not display all symptoms and symptoms will vary in severity. However, a person with ASD will display several of these behaviors and signs.

Autism Is A Genetic Disorder

Although autism was once believed to be the result of improper parenting, researchers now believe that genesnot psychological factorsare to blame. In fact, a 2019 study published in JAMA Psychiatry found that 80% of autism risk comes from inherited genetic factors. The study was widespread, looking at 2 million people from five countries .

If a couple has one child with autism, there is a 5 to 10 percent chance that siblings will have some sort of autistic disorder. With identical twins, the likelihood is 60 percent. Even though profoundly autistic people rarely have children, researchers often find that a relative has mild autistic symptoms or a high-functioning autism-spectrum disorder.

Experts believe that autism is the result of multiple genes anywhere from three to 20 interacting with each other. This may explain why the symptoms and severity of the disorder vary greatly. These genes may cause a baby’s brain to develop abnormally in utero or make him more susceptible to unknown triggers. “There is probably a combination of genetic and environmental influences,” says Catherine Lord, Ph.D., director of the Center for Autism and Communication Disorders at the University of Michigan, in Ann Arbor. Although the genes linked to autism have not yet been pinpointed, intense research is under way.

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Challenging Behaviors In Autism

People with autism spectrum disorder may exhibit behaviors which put themselves at risk, cause difficulties for people around them or which are not socially acceptable.

Around 50 percent of people with autism engage in behavior that can cause themselves harm when they feel frustrated, overwhelmed or unwell. Such behaviors can include:

• Banging their head on walls or other objects
• Hitting themselves, e.g. hitting their head with their hands
• Poking themselves in the eye
• Pulling their hair
• Biting themselves
• Smearing feces

A person with autism who feels frustrated, overwhelmed or feeling unwell may also display physically aggressive behavior. This can include:

• Throwing objects
• Hitting, slapping or biting other people
• Pulling other peopleââ¬â¢s hair

Some people with autism eat objects that are not edible, or keep the objects in their mouth, a behavior known as pica. It is the most common eating disorder found in people with autism spectrum disorder. People may eat anything, including dirt or soap.

Autism Signs In Children

Spotting the early signs of autism in young children can be hard if youâre not an autism expert.

Many of these signs are common to all young children but they are seen more often in children who have autism.

Weâve listed here some common red flags for autism â if your child shows some of these then itâs time to check in with a qualified professional.

We also list typical developmental milestones which may be used as a guide to gauge a childâs development. If there are any concerns about a childâs development, or if there is a loss of any skills at any age, talk to a doctor as soon as possible.

• Does not turn head to locate sounds and appears not to respond to loud noises
• Does not push down on legs when feet placed on a firm surface
• Does not show affection to primary caregiver, dislikes being cuddled
• Does not crawl, cannot stand when supported
• Does not use gestures such as waving or pointing

• Cannot walk by 18 months or walks only on his toes, cannot push a wheeled toy
• Does not speak does not imitate actions, cannot follow simple instructions
• Does not appear to know the function of common household object such as a telephone by 15 months

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