01-03-2008, 11:12 PM
From Seattle PI.com:
Quote:
The University of Washington launched one of the nation's first studies on preventing autism in infants Wednesday and will spend the next four years exploring the benefit of intensive and early therapy on the mysterious disorder.
The university's Autism Center is looking for 200 local families to join the study of autism, which is diagnosed in 1 out of 150 children, according to the latest study by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The study is unusual because autism research and treatment has typically focused on treating or reversing but not preventing the neurological disorder. Autism often emerges when a child is around 2 years old.
"Other research has shown that the earlier the intervention, the better the outcome in treating children with autism. One of our goals is to be able to identify autism as early as possible before obvious symptoms show up so we can intervene while the connections in a child's brain are still plastic," Annette Estes, associate director of the Autism Center, said in a statement.
The hope is based on the fact that UW clinicians have generally been more successful the earlier they have treated children.
"This is the question we are trying to answer: 'Can we do this?' " Estes said in an interview. "It is a bold question to try to ask."
There is wide support for treating, reversing or potentially preventing a disorder with such a variety of symptoms that people are diagnosed on a spectrum. Children with autism typically struggle with social, emotional and communication skills.
The study will focus on newborns who have older siblings on the autism spectrum, since those babies are far more likely to develop the disorder. One out of 20 infants with an older brother or sister with autism will also fall on the spectrum, according to the university.
"I think this is the only study I am aware of ... to really identify autism this early, 6 months or younger," said Estes, who will lead clinical assessments.
Experts don't know what causes autism, though it is believed to be a combination of genetics and environmental triggers, and UW researchers hope to gain a clearer sense of early risk factors.
The study is potentially controversial because prevention is a loaded word in certain autism circles.
There are adults on the autism spectrum who believe autism is a difference, not a disorder, said Kristina Chew, who has an autistic son and runs the popular blog Autismvox.com.
"I think the general feeling is being autistic is part of being human," said Chew, who added that treatments described appeared helpful. "If we are going to prevent autism, are we going to start preventing other differences in human beings?"
The university's Autism Center is looking for 200 local families to join the study of autism, which is diagnosed in 1 out of 150 children, according to the latest study by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The study is unusual because autism research and treatment has typically focused on treating or reversing but not preventing the neurological disorder. Autism often emerges when a child is around 2 years old.
"Other research has shown that the earlier the intervention, the better the outcome in treating children with autism. One of our goals is to be able to identify autism as early as possible before obvious symptoms show up so we can intervene while the connections in a child's brain are still plastic," Annette Estes, associate director of the Autism Center, said in a statement.
The hope is based on the fact that UW clinicians have generally been more successful the earlier they have treated children.
"This is the question we are trying to answer: 'Can we do this?' " Estes said in an interview. "It is a bold question to try to ask."
There is wide support for treating, reversing or potentially preventing a disorder with such a variety of symptoms that people are diagnosed on a spectrum. Children with autism typically struggle with social, emotional and communication skills.
The study will focus on newborns who have older siblings on the autism spectrum, since those babies are far more likely to develop the disorder. One out of 20 infants with an older brother or sister with autism will also fall on the spectrum, according to the university.
"I think this is the only study I am aware of ... to really identify autism this early, 6 months or younger," said Estes, who will lead clinical assessments.
Experts don't know what causes autism, though it is believed to be a combination of genetics and environmental triggers, and UW researchers hope to gain a clearer sense of early risk factors.
The study is potentially controversial because prevention is a loaded word in certain autism circles.
There are adults on the autism spectrum who believe autism is a difference, not a disorder, said Kristina Chew, who has an autistic son and runs the popular blog Autismvox.com.
"I think the general feeling is being autistic is part of being human," said Chew, who added that treatments described appeared helpful. "If we are going to prevent autism, are we going to start preventing other differences in human beings?"
Question:If, according to the article's statistics, 19 out of 20 children with a sibling on the spectrum DON'T have autism themselves... what difference, if any, will this kind of pre-symptom intervention make?
And CAN you intervene in a developmental disorder before it, well, develops? I suppose that's what they want to test, but it seems a hard thing to prove, since there'll be no way to tell how those particular kids would have turned out without the intervention.