Course of Autism Signs in the First Year of Life

Abstract

Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are thought to be present right from birth, even if a minority of children displays a normal course during infancy followed by a regression during the second year of life. However, established criteria are not yet available to differentiate these different courses of ASD, and data coming from different sources have not yet been organized into a clear definition. The aim of this study was to elucidate the time of onset, as well as type, frequency and stability of symptoms during the first year of life in ASD. The behavioral summarized evaluation scale, applied to 40 home movies of children later diagnosed as having ASD, showed that most of the subjects (87.5%) display symptoms within the first year of life, when only a small group (12.5%) is completely symptom free. A group of more rated symptoms was found, constituting a typical pattern characterized by being withdrawn, and displaying poor social initiative, hypoactivity, and lack of emotional modulation. The importance of these findings is discussed in relation to early diagnosis and treatment.

Identifying Infants and Young Children With Developmental Disorders in the Medical Home: An Algorithm for Developmental Surveillance and Screening

“…Early communication skills may be emerging-evidence suggests symptoms of autism, such as lack of eye contact, orienting to name being called, or pointing, may be recognizable in the first year of life. 23,24 Early intervention to address specific developmental disorders is available to infants from birth and should be accessed to address any delays detected at 9 months. 25 At-risk 9-month-old infants should also be referred to early intervention programs if not previously referred.…”

Music therapy microanalysis of parent-infant interaction in a three-month-old infant later diagnosed with autism

“…For a long time, our research using family movies (Saint-Georges et al, 2010) was focused on infant's attentional skills, describing a pattern characterized by an early lower social attention (Maestro et al, 2002) and by an atypical longitudinal increase of non-social attention during the first year of life (Maestro et al, 2004). Autism spectrum disorders infants do not show the increasing social engagement that characterizes infants with typical development (TD) and, in particular, the typical propensity of infants to seek interactive experiences and sympathize with the intentions and feelings of others.…”

Espectro autista

“…Los videos familiares en niños portadores de TEA muestran que antes de los 9 meses de edad hay alteración en su conducta social (evitación de la mirada, escasas instancias de mirada hacia otras personas, ausencia de expresión emocional y poca iniciativa social) e hipoactividad. Cerca del 90% de estos niños muestran sínto-mas de TEA antes del año de vida 4 . Los sínto-mas precoces evidenciados están relacionados con la clasificación DSMIV: alteración cualitativa del funcionamiento social, alteración cualitativa del funcionamiento comunicativo y presencia de conductas e intereses repetitivos y estereotipados.…”