Autism therapy could eliminate symptoms

A new therapy aimed at treating infants as young as 6-months-old who exhibit signs of autism has shown promising results.  The treatment – pioneered by the University of California Davis MIND Institute – has significantly reduced symptoms so that, by age 3, most who received the therapy showed no signs of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or developmental delay. Called Infant Start, the behavioural therapy was administered over a 12-week period to seven 7-15-month-old infants showing signs of ASD, such as decreased eye contact and social engagement and a fondness of repetition. “Most of the children in the study, six out of seven, caught up in all of their learning skills and their language by the time they were 2 to 3,” said Sally J. Rogers, lead author of the study and developer of the therapy. “Most children are barely even getting diagnosed by then.” “For the children who are achieving typical developmental rates, we are essentially ameliorating their developmental delays. We have speeded up their developmental rates and profiles.” Rogers credits the success of the trial to the parents who administered the therapy. Parents were coached to concentrate interactions on supporting their child’s individual developmental needs and interests, embedding them into all aspects of play and caretaking. The treatment is based on the successful Early Start Denver Model developed my Rogers and Geraldine Dawson from Duke University. The study – published in Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders – measured responses of the parents and children to the intervention, which consisted of 12 one-hour sessions followed by regular follow-up assessments. Children exhibiting more autism symptoms at 9-months had much lower autism severity scores at 18- to 36-months when compared with similarly symptomatic infants who did not receive the therapy. Overall, those receiving the treatment had less impairment in terms of autism diagnosis, and language and developmental delays than either of the other affected groups. Although the sample size was small and the findings are preliminary, the study does suggest that treating symptoms of autism early may lessen problems later on. Larger control studies are needed to test the treatment for general use the researchers warn. Autism treatment in the first year of life; A pilot study if Infant Start, a parent-implemented intervention for symptomatic infants