Cincinnati Family Magazine

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November 4, 2024

10 Things We Know About Autism Today

With speech lessons, physical therapy and behavior training several hours daily, he’s now affectionate, social, talking, walking and in preschool.

In honor of Autism Awareness Month, a here are ten important things we now know that offer parents insight:

1. High-quality early intervention for autism spectrum disorder (ASD) can improve brain function.

2. Being nonverbal at age 4 does NOT mean children with autism will never speak. Research shows that most will, in fact, learn to use words, and nearly half will learn to speak fluently. 

3. Though autism tends to be life long, some children with ASD make so much progress that they no longer meet the diagnostic criteria for autism. High quality early-intervention may be key. 

4. Many younger siblings of children with ASD have developmental delays and symptoms that fall short of an autism diagnosis, but still warrant early intervention.

5. Research confirms what parents have been saying about wandering and bolting by children with autism: It’s common, it’s scary, and it doesn’t result from careless parenting. 

6. Prenatal folic acid, taken in the weeks before and after a woman becomes pregnant, may reduce the risk of autism.

7. One of the best ways to promote social skills in grade-schoolers with autism is to teach their classmates how to befriend a person with developmental disabilities.

8. Researchers can detect presymptom markers of autism as early as 6 months — a discovery that may lead to earlier intervention to improve outcomes. 

9. The first medicines for treating autism’s core symptoms are showing promise in early clinical trials. 

10. Investors and product developers respond to a call to develop products and services to address the unmet needs of the autism community.
Source: Autism.com

 

 

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