The doctors stated that autism's greatest danger is its capacity to damage the child even before the parents find out that something is wrong. They added that screenings must be done at 18 months, and again at 24 months, and must become as part of the routine as immunization and weighing, as reported by ABC News.
Filed in two reports, the proposal stated that early detection of the condition will be of help for parents and the child, as therapy may be started as soon as possible. Although there is still no definite cure, the doctors explained that therapy significantly helps in lessening the severity of the symptoms.
Rebecca Landa, the director of the Kennedy Krieger Institute Center for Autism and Related Disorders, backed up the proposal by saying that their research has already identified ample amounts of information about early-stage autism. She added that these early signs appeared in children very close to one year old.
The report gave a number of warning signs of which parents must be aware. As provided by CTV News, the symptoms include no babbling, pointing or other gestures after 12 months, no single words by 16 months, no two-word spontaneous phrases by 24 months, and loss of language or social skills at any age.
Other earlier signs of autism, according to the report, include smiling late, failure to make eye contact, and the lack of response when the baby's name is mentioned, or when the parent points at something, followed by "Look at..."
Despite these symptoms, the doctors also put across the warning that not all symptoms similar to the ones listed are autistic tendencies. In order to prevent mistaken diagnoses, the doctors recommended that pediatricians fully familiarize themselves with the nature of autism, and its actual symptoms, especially the first ones.
