Autism awareness campaigns have done their job, and one of the first questions I hear from parents who have a child demonstrating delays is: Could he have autism? Parents know that autism is a much more common diagnosis today than it was in the past and that kids are being diagnosed early.
Just how early? Some local districts in my state do a comprehensive evaluation (including a school psychologist, speech pathologist, and social worker as part of the team) as early as 18 months, qualifying children for special education services under autism spectrum disorder. A pediatric neurologist is opening up an autism clinic in my town, welcoming kids as young as newborn. I have a new referral on my desk right now from a pediatrician who says the child is exhibiting signs of autism. The baby is 8 months old.
Only an evaluation team can diagnose autism, but if your child is not hitting his milestones at a typical rate or is exhibiting some of these signs, please talk to your doctor or local intervention agency. The bright side of identifying children with autism spectrum disorder so early is that intervention is available to support both child and parent.
