Autism Symptoms

This picture represents well the fact that symptoms of Autism are not always obvious but a certain combination of them make it easier for specialist to identify a child's needs if affected by ASD.

Early Autism Symptoms.

Like many new mothers, Tina Fougere kept a diary after her twins were born. With great joy, she traced their tiny feet. She diagramed their sprouting teeth. And she diligently chronicled first steps, first words and first birthdays.
What Fougere didn't know at the time was that her son, Nathan, was autistic. The personal journals, which detailed everything from sleep patterns to facial expressions in the two children, have become illuminating scientific documents that show autism can be seen in children as young as 6 months.
Autism, a devastating and confounding neurological disorder, is rarely diagnosed before age 2 and often not until age 3 or 4. The findings generated from the diaries, which were published in last month's scientific journal Neurocase, offered an unprecedented glimpse at the early warning signs.
The information can be crucial to early intervention. But these red flags also give parents even more to worry about if a child isn't developing precisely on schedule. Boys and girls are notorious for reaching milestones at different times.
Now, in addition to tracking a child's height and weight, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention want parents to note when their child smiles, how often, when the child starts to speak, when he learns to play and how he interacts with others.
Specific therapies haven't yet been designed for children who show autistic-like symptoms under a year of age. And there is growing concern that pediatricians aren't adequately trained to diagnose children with neurodevelopmental disorders in the first place.
"It's a new area, and we're still asking the question: Are the signs reliable enough to predict?" said Mel Rutherford, an assistant professor of psychology at Ontario's McMaster University, who studied the Hamilton, Ontario, mother's journals. "The danger is not whether we (diagnose) too early. The danger is not being accurate."
The number of children who have a condition in the autism spectrum is staggering. In the 1980s it was thought that 1 in 2,500 had one. It's now 1 in 166, according to recent CDC estimates. Yet no one can explain why.
Instead, the effort is focused on early diagnosis. Last month, the CDC launched its "Learn the Signs. Act Early" campaign (www.cdc.gov/actearly) to teach parents the signs of normal development.
By 15 to 18 months, for example, a child should be able to say several single words, according to the guidelines. But what parents should know is that autistic children have delays in all forms of communication, verbal and non-verbal. A lack of words at 15 to 18 months isn't necessarily cause for concern as long as he can point and grunt to show parents what he wants.
"If a whole suite of skills is not coming or is late, then you should start to wonder what is going on," Rutherford said.
In Fougere's case, the twins appeared to develop normally for the first six months. Both smiled, were vocally responsive and showed a preference for family members over other people, Rutherford said. Nathan even crawled and walked before his sister.
By age 1, however, Nathan showed less eye contact, less verbal communication and less affection toward others than his sister. In hindsight, a telling moment for Fougere was when Nathan seemed uninterested in his own 1st birthday party.
Still, warning signs are rarely obvious. Betsy Marks' 3-year-old son, Jonah, developed normally for the first year and began speaking. At 13 months the eight words he knew vanished from his vocabulary. But the changes were subtle. "We thought he wasn't talking and he was fussier because he broke his leg (about that time)," said Marks of Highland Park, Ill. "It happened really slowly. Even though it was my fourth child, there was never one minute where I said, `You know what, he's lost every single word!'"
In addition, her oldest child, who does not have autism, didn't start speaking until he was 2. "The thing about autism is no one kid fits a particular profile," Marks said. "Jonah had fantastic eye contact and loved his brothers and sisters. Our regular pediatrician told us his eye contact was too good for autism. But that's just one component."
Marks found pediatrician Alan Rosenblatt, a specialist in neurodevelopmental pediatrics. Since then, over the last year, she said her son has made extraordinary gains. "He's on track to be indistinguishable from his peers by kindergarten," Marks said, her voice full of hope.

Autism Symptoms Study

A raft of recent reports in professional and mass media has refocused the spotlight on the devastating effects of autism. Autism is a vexing problem with a ten-fold increase over the past 20 years in the number of children afflicted with it. Now, one in every 166 children is diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disease (ASD), a cluster of conditions commonly known as autism. It is for good reason that researchers, advocacy groups and the government are striving to improve the lives of children and their families, which exacts a heavy emotional, psychological and financial toll.
Autism is a complex disease in which cellular debris is not promptly removed from the brain. Since autism presents itself in a variety of ways, it is not surprising that the treatments are just as varied and numerous. Drugs ranging from anti-psychotics to stimulants to anti-convulsives have been used with unsatisfactory results. More recent investigations have emphasized afresh that factors other than what causes autism are responsible for the afflicted children. Therefore, a greater emphasis is now being placed on the management of secondary conditions common in autism sufferers.
Among the notable conditions autistic children suffer from are gastrointestinal maladies, food allergies, and heavy metals -- all of which cause anxiety, rashes, bellyaches and aggression. Hence, primary management of these conditions is gaining popularity. In fact, increasing evidence suggests that amelioration of these symptoms significantly improves quality of life of autistic children and their families.

A nutritional regimen that has shown to help restore gastrointestinal balance is inulin, a soluble fiber isolated from the root of Jerusalem artichoke. Inulin is a prebiotic that promotes the growth of beneficial bacteria in the colon, and thus restores balance in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. "When intestinal floral ecology is in healthy balance, the body produces a host of substances that offset adverse events in the GI tract that aggravate symptoms of autism," says Gloria Gilbère, ND., D.A.Hom, Ph.D., who has been at the forefront of advocating the use of nutritional means to help restore intestinal balance. "Inulin is not simply a prebiotic but it also has the advantage that it can help rid the body of heavy metals as well," continued Gilbère. Dr. Gilbère has a long-term interest in detoxification of the body, and is the author of several publications, such as Invisible Illnesses and Pain/Inflammation Matters.
Inulin is marketed by Marlyn Nutraceuticals, Inc., a leading nutraceuticals manufacturer based in Phoenix, Arizona. Inulin from the root of Jerusalem artichoke is superior to that isolated from other sources. It has longer chains, which sustain growth specifically of beneficial intestinal bacteria for extended periods of time. "Initially, we developed InuFlora, our branded inulin prebiotic for intestinal floral balance," said Joe Lehmann, CEO/President, Marlyn Nutraceuticals. "We quickly realized that it also helps remove cellular debris and heavy metals from the body as well. InuFlora can be a far more effective nutritional support to remove heavy metals than drug-induced chelation," said Lehmann. Chelation (or removal) of heavy metals with drugs can cause liver problems, exacerbate gastrointestinal problems, suppress bone marrow compromising the immune response, and strip the body of zinc, an essential mineral. "The driving force of our product development is first and foremost to support the body's own defenses rather than further compromising them," said Lehmann. "As with our other products such as Wobenzym, InuFlora strengthens the body's response to metabolic attrition and helps it heal itself. Therefore, the nutritional management is a viable approach to offset the harsher realities of the disease processes." InuFlora is produced from organically grown Jerusalem artichoke by a proprietary method that retains the natural benefits of inulin.
Whereas autism has a complex clinical spectrum and requires competent clinical attention to mitigate neurological symptoms, it is becoming increasingly clear that secondary effects of the disease are just as devastating. Since the choices to manage secondary conditions are limited, especially those without side effects, nutritional management is a preferable regimen to bolster the body's healing potential.