Doctors Urge Early Autism Screening

(CBS/AP)  The nation's pediatricians are receiving new marching orders in the war against autism, reports CBS News medical correspondent Dr. Jon LaPook.

The country's leading pediatricians group is pushing to have all children screened for autism twice by age two.

Pediatricians should also start looking for subtle signs that can occur as early as one year old, adds LaPook, even before a formal diagnosis:

Not turning head when parents call the baby's name.

Not pointing to show parents an object.

Lack of babbling.

Smiling late.

Failure to make eye contact with people.

There is no cure for the developmental disorder, but experts say that early therapy can lessen its severity.

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.

"We think it's a very welcome turn of events," Marguerite Colston of the Autism Society of America told CBS News. "We welcome the pediatricians looking at this because the earlier autism can be identified the better chance we can get the children support and mainstream them."

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.

Experts say one in 150 U.S. children have the troubling developmental disorder.

"Our goal is to have these children identified and diagnosed early so they can get services, so that when they're in second, third grade they're able to cope in a regular classroom," said Dr. Chris Johnson of the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio. She co-authored the reports.

Helped early enough, Johnson told CBS News, autistic kids can go on to do well in mainstream schools.

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 - 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.

[grammawhamma]

downtowner97: The C-pap cured your father''''s obesity?? His obesity was more then likely the cause of the sleep apnea.

I will repost this because you didn''t respond the first time. I am a RN. I totally agree with you that sleep deprivation is the cause of many illnesses...I firmly believe that lack of sleep ruins your immune system. However, many children that snore have enlarged tonsils. I would suggest that be checked out first before hooking them up to a C-pap machine. I, myself, could not sleep with a C-pap on unless I was drugged.

[usaprophet]

People have gotten wise to the fact that vaccines are contaminated with DNA fragments, viruses, fungus, mercury, and a cocktail of other poisonous toxins. Fleets of reputable studies have been published globally detailing the wide swaths of destruction caused by vaccines, including autism. So, now the establishment is on the offensive, attempting to bully us into submission. Big Pharma is one of the biggest businesses in the world. It is among the top three purchasers of advertisement in print, TV and radio. Thay have major pull. President Bush recently vetoed a Bill which would have forced Big Pharma to remove mercury from vaccines. If that''s not bad enough, parts of the so-called Patriot Act contains provisions that essentialy remove the spectre of civil liability against Big Pharma with respect to vaccines. This was done in the name of protecting Big Pharma in case they had to quickly develop a vaccine to combat some unforseen form of biological terrorism. No other candidate for President understands health issues as well as Dr. Ron Paul does. He not only supported the Bill which would have removed mercury from our vaccines, he voted against the Patriot Act as well. Dr. Paul., an OB/GYN physician, who has delivered over 4,000 babies, has been the national leader in preserving our Health Freedom. He feels that Americans are justifiably concerned over the government''s escalating intervention into our freedom to choose what we eat and how they take care of our health. Go Dr. Paul.

[tasbrad-2009]

The news media has to be careful about pushing this early diagnosis of autism. Why don''t they do a report on how many insurance companies don''t pay for any services once a child gets diagnosed? Our son was receiving ot and pt until he received his official diagnosis. I know of a boy with asbergers whose doctor is reluctant to make a formal diagnosis because the boy''s insurance for his treatment will stop yet his school requires that diagnosis before they''ll give him an IEP. CBS and AAP... warn parents before you give them the recommendation to test.

[drinuk]

Why don''t you folks wise up! Every time there is the slightest slur upon Big Pharma Susan Helit pops up on here defending them, especially regarding vaccinations.
Last week she did not wish for un vaccinated kids to infect Her vaccinated offspring, which says a lot for the protection she claims. The woman is a fool and up to her ears in Big Pharma.
MMR and Autism ?? It is the next Thalidomide but on a massive worldwide scale. The Aids vaccine ?? already killing people. Just when is this PHARMAGEDDON going to stop and these evil crooks locked up. I agree the man to sort it would be Ron Paul, sadly America it ''Aint going to happen, They will shoot him before he gets to the Oval office.

[cjc37]

I watched the interview with the Dr this morning and I wasn''t impressed. I have a child with PDD-NOS which is on the autism spectrum. At age 2 he had eye contact(which he makes you), he can point to his nose and every other part of his body, and he can tell you who his dad and mom are without any problems. There are so many different forms of autism that I believe the check up must be more extensive. The only sign my son had was stimming. Which is when he might rub his hands together or wiggle them and sometimes and be vocal with this. I do totally agree that early screening and intervention is the key to help children with autism. I think they need to start looking into the shots the children recieve as well as what has changed in the environment because autism has grown in numbers!!

[lucasnico]

susan.....again, you show your ignorance.....Nope, I did all of the research myself. Where are your sources?? I challenge you to spend any time with an autism group...go ahead, talk to the parents. Listen to story, after story, after story about normal developing children until the MMR vaccine, and then BAM...it all changed......common thread, vaccines with thimerosal. Go ahead, do your research...talk to these parents....better yet, come on over to my house and spend just part of a day with our autistic son, who was fine until he was vaccinated......or just keep your head in the sand.......idiot!

[susanhelit]

Nope. I did all the research - sparked in no small part by the Kennedy article (misleading to say the least - I''ve no doubt it was sincere, but he was wrong), and study after study, no matter who funds it, and the same answer every time. The larger the study, the clearer the results. I love the anti-vaccine sites - they link to studies as "proof" of a link - and if you go to the study, it says the exact and precise opposite of what the anti-vaccine site said it did. Try it if you''re worried about vaccines - go take a look at the study itself. Often you''ll find some very angry researchers and an extreme perversion, to downright lies about what their data contained. The big bad business here is not the pharamceutical companies (not this time), it''s the anti-vaccine industry, having fun, making money, and killing children by frightening parents.

My children are vaccinated, as am I.

[downtowner97]

mythoughtster and teeus- I just typed "sleep apnea autism" into a Google search and got 648,000 results. Try having someone suffocate you until you''re nearly dead 20 times a night and see how well you function once you wake up. Show me a kid with autism who doesn''t snore and cease breathing several times a night. It would be a first for me.

Simple orthotic devices can save lives, marriages, and can cure autism.

[lucasnico]

susanhelit....where in the world are you getting your information?? EVERY STUDY DONE including about Amish....BULL!! Did you read the 17 page article by Robert Kennedy Jr?? Just ONE example of how Amish kids who do NOT get vaccinations have ZERO population of autism...that''s zero, Susan...did you get that?? The reason there are some studies, if you want to call them that, that say thimerosal doesn''t cause autism, is because it was FEDERAL GOVERNMENT MONEY FROM THE AMA that paid for these "studies." WHY?? Thousands of parents have been lined up for years to sue Eli Lilly. Thimerosal may well trigger autism. Why in the world would you inject an infant with ANY amount of mercury?? Their immune system is not even close to being developed.
Some vaccines are good, but mercury is absolutely unneccessary. The only reason it''s used is to preserve large amounts of a serum....to increase it''s shelf life. Less cost for the manufacturer, bigger profits for the medical company, and the health of our children be damned! Shame on you!!!!

[lloydbest1]

It might be useful to have some input from someone who has personal experience with this troubling syndrome and is all too familiar with it.
I was born over 50 years ago and at first there was nothing of note about my development. When I hit my 18th month without having spoken my first word, however, my parents became a little anxious. I was distant, uncommunicative, prone to sudden outbursts, hated noise, abhored change, tended to wander off and not respond when called. I engaged in what the pros call "stereotypical" behavior; meaning I would do certain repetitive motions and adhere to certain rituals. Must have derived some comfort from all that but can''t remember much of it now.
When I was about 2 1/2 my mother got fed up with my non standard behavior and had me evaluated. It was then I was diagnosed, in mom''s words, with "Profound and incurable Autism".
This all went down in the early 50''s so I don''t know how accurate the diagnosis was but I struggled throughout childhood with engagement, attachment, communication skills, empathy, and the continual tasks of understanding the world around me.
I share all this - reluctantly - because I still struggle somewhat with all that but I am also doing much better as I get older.
Vcharette1, I was about 15 myself and a real basket case when I began trying to turn this around. Day to day improvement was gradual and sometimes I regressed but over the decades I have come a long way. I believe your child will also.