“Lack of gazing, early sign of autism? - Orlando Sentinel” plus 2 more |
- Lack of gazing, early sign of autism? - Orlando Sentinel
- Infants May Display Subtle Autism Signs at 6 Months: Study - AZCentral.com
- Troy law firm files motion to extend autism coverage to military families - Crain's Detroit Business
| Lack of gazing, early sign of autism? - Orlando Sentinel Posted: 03 Sep 2010 12:12 PM PDT Infants frequently gaze at people's faces. It's as if they're fascinated and, perhaps, yearning for interaction with the people in their lives. Infants who don't exhibit this fondness for human faces, researchers say, may be exhibiting one of the first signs of autism. With autism rates soaring over the last decade, researchers are seeking the earliest clues of the disorder. The sooner a child is diagnosed and begins treatment, experts say, the better the long-term outcome. In the September issue of the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, leading autism researchers say they think infant gaze is among the first clues of social functioning. A hallmark characteristic of autism is an inability to socialize. The researchers, from the Kennedy Krieger Institute in Baltimore and the University of Delaware, observed 25 6-month-old infants who were siblings of children with autism. (Siblings have a much higher risk of developing the disease.) They were compared with 25 infants from families with no history of autism. The infants were observed performing a task that measured their ability to learn and level of social engagement with a caregiver. They found that the infants in the low-risk group were more likely to have normal social gazing. They looked at their caregivers, became excited while playing and pointed to the toy. The high-risk siblings, however, spent less time looking at their caregivers and more time focused on the toy. The two groups did not differ, however, in how well they learned the game the caregiver was playing with them. The study provides more evidence for early diagnosis, the lead author of the study, Rebecca Landa, said in a news release. The lack of interest in people's faces is "a subtle difference that could be easily overlooked by both parents and some professionals." This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Infants May Display Subtle Autism Signs at 6 Months: Study - AZCentral.com Posted: 03 Sep 2010 11:08 AM PDT
FRIDAY, Sept. 3 (HealthDay News) -- Scientists report that they may have detected signs of autism in 6-month-old babies, but it's too early to know if the findings could lead to earlier diagnosis of the condition. Currently, doctors can only diagnose autism in the second year of life or later, Robert T. Schultz, director of the Center for Autism Research at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, explained in an interview. Earlier diagnosis could make a difference for kids because "generally, the feeling in the field is that the earlier the intervention, the better the child's outcome," said Schultz, who was not involved in the study but is familiar with the findings of the new research. The researchers studied 25 babies who had siblings with autism, putting them at higher risk for the disorder, and 25 other babies whose families didn't have a history of autism. The investigators allowed the babies to figure out how to play with a toy while their caregivers sat nearby. The babies at higher risk of autism spent more time fixated on the toy than the other babies and less time looking at their caregivers when the caregivers weren't engaging them. "This is about social initiation. The baby siblings of children with autism looked less often and with less duration. It's something parents should keep an eye on," said study co-author Rebecca Landa, director of Kennedy Krieger Institute's Center for Autism and Related Disorders. But the differences between high-risk and lower-risk babies at this age may be too small for parents to notice, said Schultz. He suggested that parents should focus on looking for possible signs of autism in their children after the age of 1 year. Lack of eye contact is one red flag, he noted. The study, published in the September issue of the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, saw no difference in cause-and-effect learning abilities between the two groups of children. In another recent study, researchers at the New York State Institute for Basic Research in Developmental Disabilities reported seeing other subtle signs of autism in infants. When they looked at babies who had spent time in the neonatal intensive care unit, they found that those later diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder were more likely to have had differences in visual processing and abnormal muscle tone at 1 month of age than the other babies. That research is published in the September issue of Pediatrics. More information For more about autism, visit the U.S. National Library of Medicine. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Troy law firm files motion to extend autism coverage to military families - Crain's Detroit Business Posted: 03 Sep 2010 12:12 PM PDT The Troy law firm that reached a six-figure settlement with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan over coverage for treatment of autistic children wants a federal judge to compel the U.S. Department of Defense to offer the same coverage for military families. Mantese, Honigman, Rossman and Williamson PC filed an emergency motion for a preliminary injunction this week in its March lawsuit at U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia against the department, defense secretary Robert Gates and Tricare Management Activity, the federal managed care benefit program for families of active duty service members. Tricare and the department filed a motion Friday asking for more time to respond to the injunction request. At issue is an alleged defense policy that classifies Applied Behavioral Analysis or ABA therapy for early childhood autism patients to be a form of special education rather than health care, subject to reimbursement from Tricare, according to court records. The Mantese firm and Washington-based Bruce J. Klores & Associates PC brought a motion this week for an injunction to compel payment while the case is pending and a recent request for stay on the departmental policy. Mantese Honigman also entered into a settlement with Blue Cross, adopted by a federal court judge in Detroit earlier this year, to reimburse covered families of children obtaining ABA therapy at William Beaumont Hospitals in Royal Oak from 2003-2009. The firm has claimed that settlement covers up to 100 families and was worth $1 million, but Blue Cross has said previously that fewer than 75 families actually qualified and the settlement is worth much less. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
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