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An Attack on Autism
Early Diagnosis, Genetics and Intervention
By Kelly Burgess
Bell says these new recommendations show that the AAP is starting to listen to parents and, more important, are passing on that message of the importance of listening to pediatricians. This is significant because parents often know when something's wrong with their child even though it may not be apparent in the few minutes they spend at the doctor's office. Hopefully, this will persuade doctors to be less dismissive of parental intuition and knowledge.
The AAP did work closely with advocacy groups such as Autism Speaks in developing their guidelines and, in a bit of serendipity, the same week that the new guidelines came out, Autism Speaks launched their latest educational effort. Visitors to their Web site can now view a series of videos showing how normal children react to various stimuli compared to children with autistic tendencies. The videos are meant to help both parents and medical professionals to better recognize the characteristics of autism.
Brenda Finucane, executive director of Genetic Services at the Elwyn Training and Research Institute in Media, Pa., says that early diagnosis is incredibly important because it can be such a great help to families who are at risk for various genetic conditions that can cause autism disorders, such as Fragile X.
"I was very pleased that the new guidelines specifically mentioned genetic counseling," Finucane says. "It's well known that once a couple has a child with autism they have a much greater chance of having another child with autism."
While genetic doesn't always mean hereditary, Finucane points out that if a child is diagnosed with a genetic form of autism at very young age, the chances are the parents will have the opportunity to undergo genetic testing and counseling before they become pregnant again.
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