Toddlers not responding is autism sign

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Study: Toddlers not responding is autism sign
POSTED: 5:30 p.m. EDT, April 2, 2007


CHICAGO, Illinois (Reuters) -- A child's failure to respond to his or her name at one year of age may be an early warning sign of autism or other developmental problems, researchers reported Monday.

The finding is significant because "earlier identification of autism offers the possibility of early intervention, which holds promise for improving outcomes," said the report from the University of California Davis in Sacramento.

"...This has motivated a growing body of research that aims to ascertain the earliest reliable indicators of autism."

The study, published in the April issue of the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, involved 101 children at age one whose older siblings had autism, and who were therefore considered at risk. They were compared with 46 infants of the same age who were not believed to be at high risk of developing the disorder.

With each child seated at a table with a small toy, a researcher walked behind and called his or her name in a clear voice. If the child did not respond after three seconds, the name was called again no more than twice.

All of the children in the low-risk group responded to their name on the first or second call, the study said, compared with 86 percent in the at-risk group.

For up to two years afterward the researchers followed 46 of the infants from the at-risk group and 25 from the low-risk group. They found that three-quarters of those who did not respond to their name at age 12 months had developmental problems at age 2.

Of the children later found to have autism, half had failed the test at one year, and of those who were identified as having any type of developmental delay, 39 percent had failed the name recognition test, the report said.

While the test will not find all children at risk for developmental problems, it is easy to administer, takes few resources and doctors might want to include it in child check-ups at age one, the study said.

In a related article in the same journal, researchers at Abt Associates Inc., Lexington, Massachusetts, and Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, said an analysis of medical literature and surveys found that each person with autism costs U.S. society about $3.2 million over his or her lifetime.

The figure includes such factors as lost productivity for children and their parents, care for victims as adults, prescription medications, special education and behavioral therapies.

http://www.cnn.com/2007/HEALTH/conditio ... index.html

Yeah, but then how much does a NORMAL kid cost US society in their lifetime?!

And warning sign?! This isn't a virus that kills kids when they reach 4 years old!

Anyway, if you want to get a kid's attention, just walk up to him/her, or take the time to help them associate their name to themselves. Sheesh! Some people just can't be bothered can they...?

Yeah, those last 2 paragraphs are killer. "Care for victims as adults..."

I just wanna get out there and verbally bash them. But of course I won't. (for a start, I have no idea where they are!)

I am not a Bloody Victim!

I saw this on The Evening News with Katie Couric today. I was like, "Oh boy here comes another BS Autism claim". You know the real reason they are doing this, is so they can claim more kids have Autism. A baby doesn't respond to their name, oh no more kids having Autism, more money for us! It's not like they actually care.

The victims here are the babies who will be erroneously diagnosed with Autism because of this, and who may have those ignorant parents, who think trying all kinds of crazy "cures" will help. So I guess it won't be long till we see a baby die of chelation, or whatever they want to call it now. That's morbid yes, but sadly with all this hysteria, I wouldn't be too surprised if something like that happened. What with this arbitrary guess as to which baby is Autistic. Babies act generally autistic, period. God, such stupid people!

Y'know....there could be other reasons why they don't respond to their names. What if they're dea- sorry, hearing impaired and haven't learnt to lipread yet?

Well it is true that there is a receptive and expressive (spoken) language deficit with many autistic children. My son (age 10) did not speak until he was 5, and couldn't really understand speech until about that age, too. My 19 months old, who shows many signs of autism, would not respond to her name at age 12 months, and she still often doesn't (she is not talking either, and she should have at least 15 words or so by this point).

So I appreciated the article until it got to those last 2 paragraphs... clearly the author doesn't know much about autism or the autistic spectrum.

Or if they already know not to talk to strangers or if they just don't like their parents

Exactly. There could be other reasons besides autism. I think I'll start a silly thread in a bit.

ADDITIONAL: The silly thread is here: http://www.wrongplanet.net/modules.php? ... ic&t=29388

Last edited by sigholdaccountlost on 05 Apr 2007, 6:02 am, edited 1 time in total.

I want my 3.2 million dollars give it to me now and I promise not to burden anyone later

Mega Flare...

so if my two kids are "victims" because they were born just a little different what does that make me for giving birth to them????

Makes you 'family of victims'

I've read about this and really feel that there are people out there trying to make it that autistic people in this world are a burden in some way whether it's from the financial point of view or social one as, the way I feel about this all human beings per se have problems that can be pesterin to others so, I'd rather not feel as if I was some bubonic plaque for crying out loud.

ProfessorX

Some babies may not respond to their name because their parents may not refer to them by name. If they are called nicknames all the time when they are little they will not respond to their real name. Did researchers check to see if these kids were called honey, sweety, little man, squirt, tiger, buddy, rascal, babydoll, the baby, him or her?

People should be careful of demanding money because they are autistic. If people aren't careful this whole autism diagnosis explosion could result in institutionalizing people against their will, forced euthanasia or medication. I won't say forced cure because I know there isn't one. Maybe the Christians will hold prayer vigils and pray for our poor autistic souls to be released of demons or something.