Community Corner

Letter to the Editor: Know Early Signs of Autism

April is Autism Awareness Month — the Kennedy Krieger Institute is reaching out to Virginia families to bring awareness to screening factors.

Dear Editor:

 

April is Autism Awareness Month. As the director of the Center for Autism and Related Disorders at Kennedy Krieger Institute in Baltimore, Maryland, I am grateful that people all over the world are raising awareness of autism. I personally want to bring attention to a statistic we don’t often hear discussed. Studies have found that for families who have one child with autism, the chance of a subsequent sibling developing the disorder is one in five.

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To bring support and awareness to families with children most at risk – infant siblings – Kennedy Krieger Institute is now providing free developmental assessments for infants 5-10 months of age who have an older sibling diagnosed with autism and live in Virginia.

When we consider screening for early indicators of autism, the models for other health conditions, such as predisposition for cancer or diabetes, should be embraced. If your mother had breast cancer, then you know you should get tested earlier and more frequently than someone without an elevated risk. The same is true for autism. While the tracking of developmental milestones is critical for all children, babies who have a family history of autism are at increased genetic risk for autism and milder delays. Thus, baby siblings of children with autism should be monitored earlier and more often than the current screening recommendations for infants and toddlers. 

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I encourage parents and professionals not to take a “wait and see” perspective with infants who have an older sibling with an autism spectrum disorder. Infants can show red flags of possible autism-related delays as early as 6-12 months, but the signs can be subtle. If an infant shows signs of delay, there are strategies families can use during play and daily activities that will enhance the development of their baby.  

Parents can visit autism.kennedykrieger.org to learn more.

Sincerely,

Dr. Rebecca Landa

Director, Center for Autism and Related Disorders

Kennedy Krieger Institute


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