The signs of autism may be evident in early infancy in at least some children, although such symptoms are probably too subtle to definitively diagnose the disease until later in life, according to a report presented here recently during the 47th annual meeting of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.

Based on an analysis of past medical records, unusual symptoms were seen in one child as early as 1 month of age, although the child was not diagnosed with autism until 4 years of age.

Autism, which affects 1 in 500 children, is characterized by impaired social interaction, language and communication. Deficiencies in such areas are difficult to detect in young babies, but there may be subtle clues to possible future problems.

Dr. Stephen J. Sheinkopf of Brown University School of Medicine and his colleagues closely examined the development of the child who was diagnosed as autistic at age 4. Because the youngster happened to be enrolled in a study not related to autism, there were detailed records of his behavior since birth. Looking back at the records, the researchers were able to identify marked differences in the child's behavior in comparison to non-autistic infants.

"The main finding was that evidence of atypical development was seen as early as 1 month of age," Sheinkopf told Reuters Health. "In particular, we found unusual patterns of cry, behavior and neurological functioning."

For example at 1 month of age, the child had an extremely unusual pattern of crying, Sheinkopf noted. "It was very difficult to elicit a cry, but once he started to cry it was very weak, but also very tense," he said. At 4 months, the infant exhibited low activity, excessive laughter and smiling, and "low soothability."

However, the researcher emphasized that his study findings may not be applicable to a larger population of infants. "This was a study of only one child, so we cannot use the results to begin to diagnose autism in infancy," Sheinkopf cautioned.

If, however, a parent is concerned about their child's development, they should talk with their pediatrician or family doctor, he advised. In addition, parents of older children with autism "should absolutely not take these results to mean that they should have spotted their child's problems earlier," Sheinkopf said.

"We still do not know how children with autism differ from normally developing children in infancy," he stressed. "The value of this study is to shine the light on fruitful places to look."

(From Reuters)