Autism Awareness Month - New Hope for Detecting/Reversing Autism ...( Researchers offer a new way to detect...),Health

Researchers offer a new way to detect and treat autism during the first few

months of life, when the brain is most responsive.

GAINESVILLE, Fla., March 11 /PRNewswire/ -- Medical experts agree that the earlier autism is diagnosed and therapy begun, the greater the chance a child can be helped. The problem is, even when parents have an intuition that "something is amiss" with their baby, most experts base their diagnosis of this disorder on social interaction, language acquisition, and learning skills - all aspects of development that don't become apparent until a child is at least two years of age.

That is about to change. Esteemed researchers OSNAT AND PHILIP TEITELBAUM have written an important new book, Does Your Baby Have Autism? (Square One Publishers, April 2008), which introduces a breakthrough method to reliably detect the signs of autism in babies as young as three to four months.

Why is this important? Because during a child's first year, when the nervous system is developing rapidly, it can compensate for areas that are not maturing properly better than at any other time. The infant brain, being quite "plastic," responds to therapies in dramatic ways.

Very early signs of possible autism are broken down into three main categories: movement, symmetry, and motor development. In clear, accessible prose, along with helpful illustrations, the Teitelbaums show how to observe your baby without using specialized equipment so you can see if he or she displays any of the identifiable symptoms. Just as important, they share simple exercises and activities you can do at home with your baby, early and often, to support your baby's brain development.
Readers also learn:

-- Eleven warning signs of asymmetrical motor development, and eight

activities to do with your infant that encourage symmetry

-- Nine "marker" reflexes that newborns should display and when they

should typically disa
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