Early Autism Symptoms

Kids with autism are usually diagnosed around age three, but what if you could detect the brain disorder before a baby's first birthday? Some researchers say it's possible because long before babies utter their first words, they speak by the way they move.Osnat and Phillip Teitelbaum watch home videos of babies with expert eyes. Their research shows it may be possible to see early signs of autism by reading the language of movement. The University of Florida researchers say abnormalities in an autistic baby's nervous system cause reflexes to go astray. "And once we are able to compare them to the movement of normal babies, we very early on can see the differences and the neurological damage very early,” said Osnat Teitlebaum, Ph.D.Phillip Teitlebaum said the earlier the better."The earlier the detection, the earlier the intervention and the nervous system is the most plastic in the earliest period,” said Phillip Teitlebaum, Ph.D. One tell-tale move of autism is how a baby turns over. "When a baby wants to turn over, he will turn his head in one direction or the other and then he will roll in that direction. But if his arm is outstretched, he can't roll that way so he has to go over the other way. And that's a clear abnormality,” Phillip said. They recommend parents perform a tilt test - gently tilting a baby six months or older at a 45 degree angle each way. They say most babies will keep their head upright as the body tilts, but an autistic child's head will go with the body. "It indicates that there is a disturbance in the vestibular system which is in the brain stem and that's shows either in the ear or in the brain stem itself, there is some damage,” Phillip said. Since babies move fast, only video can capture this special first language. In a study last year, the Teitelbaums found babies with Asperger's Syndrome, a milder form of autism, had movement disturbances that are indistinguishable from children with more severe autism. They also say swinging with autistic babies in a backyard or playground swing may help because it stimulates the inner ear.