Date:
10/28/2007 01:21 PM U.S. pediatricians group urges autism screening for
all toddlers by age 2 in renewed push
By LINDSEY TANNER
AP Medical Writer
CHICAGO (AP) _ The country's leading pediatricians
group is making its strongest push yet to have all children
screened for autism twice by age 2, warning of symptoms such
as babies who don't babble at 9 months and 1-year-olds who
don't point to toys.
The advice is meant to help both parents and
doctors spot autism sooner. There is no cure for the disorder,
but experts say that early therapy can lessen its severity.
Symptoms to watch for and the call for early
screening come in two new reports. They are being released
by the American Academy of Pediatrics on Monday at its annual
meeting in San Francisco and will appear in the November issue
of the journal Pediatrics and on the group's Web site —
http://www.aap.org/.
The reports list numerous warning signs, such
as a 4-month-old not smiling at the sound of Mom or Dad's
voice, or the loss of language or social skills at any age.
Experts say one in 150 U.S. children have
the troubling developmental disorder.
"Parents come into your office now saying
'I'm worried about autism.' Ten years ago, they didn't know
what it was," said Dr. Chris Johnson of the University
of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio. She co-authored
the reports.
The academy's renewed effort reflects growing
awareness since its first autism guidelines in 2001. A 2006
policy statement urged autism screening for all children at
their regular doctor visits at age 18 months and 24 months.
The authors caution that not all children
who display a few of these symptoms are autistic and they
said parents shouldn't overreact to quirky behavior.
Just because a child likes to line up toy
cars or has temper tantrums "doesn't mean you need to
have concern, if they're also interacting socially and also
pretending with toys and communicating well," said co-author
Dr. Scott Myers, a neurodevelopmental pediatrician in Danville,
Pa.
"With awareness comes concern when there
doesn't always need to be," he said. "These resources
will help educate the reader as to which things you really
need to be concerned about."
Another educational tool, a Web site that
debuted in mid-October, offers dozens of video clips of autistic
kids contrasted with unaffected children's behavior. That
Web site — http://www.autismspeaks.org/ — is sponsored
by two nonprofit advocacy groups: Autism Speaks and First
Signs. They hope the site will promote early diagnosis and
treatment to help children with autism lead more normal lives.
The two new reports say children with suspected
autism should start treatment even before a formal diagnosis.
They also warn parents about the special diets and alternative
treatments endorsed by celebrities, saying there's no proof
those work.
Recommended treatment should include at least
25 hours a week of intensive behavior-based therapy, including
educational activities and speech therapy, according to the
reports. They list several specific approaches that have been
shown to help.
For very young children, therapy typically
involves fun activities, such as bouncing balls back and forth
or sharing toys to develop social skills; there is repeated
praise for eye contact and other behavior autistic children
often avoid.
Mary Grace Mauney, an 18-year-old high school
senior from Lilburn, Ga., has a mild form of autism that wasn't
diagnosed until she was 9.
As a young girl, she didn't smile, spoke in
a very formal manner and began to repeat the last word or
syllable of her sentences. She was prone to intense tantrums,
but only outside school. There, she excelled and was in gifted
classes.
"I took her to a therapist and they said
she was just very sensitive and very intense and very creative,"
said her mother, Maureen, 54.
Pediatricians should send such children for
"early intervention as soon as you even think there's
a problem," Johnson said.
Dr. Ruby Roy, a pediatrician with Loyola University
Medical Center, who treats at least 20 autistic children,
applauded the reports.
"This is a disorder that is often missed,
especially when it's mild, and the mild kids are the ones
... who can be helped the most," Roy said.
Dr. Dirk Steinert, who treats children and
adults at Columbia St. Mary's clinic in suburban Milwaukee,
said the push for early autism screening is important —
but that it's tough to squeeze it into a child's regular wellness
checkup.
Some pediatricians have tried scheduling a
visit just to check for developmental problems, when children
are 2½. The problem is that insurance doesn't always
cover these extra visits, Steinert said.
———
AP Medical Writer Mike Stobbe in Atlanta contributed
to this report.
———
On the Net:
American Academy of Pediatrics: http://www.aap.org/
