The controversy regarding the apparent rise of autism is still being debated. (Experts now suspect that one person in 160 lives with some degree of autism. That’s three to four times the rate estimated in the 1970’s.)The question persists - are the numbers of cases rising or are parents more aware and doctors more adept at diagnosing the disorder?
Previous studies had revealed that a large percentage of children diagnosed with autism have abnormally large brains for their age. A study, published in The Journal of the American Medical Association, found that children diagnosed with the autism disorder were born with smaller than average heads which grew from the 25th percentile to the 84th percentile in the first year. This disproportionately rapid growth appears to be an early predictor of the disorder that may not be manifest until the child is two or three. An autistic child may have an adult-size brain by the age of four or five years old. And although the growth rate slows significantly after the first year, an autistic child may have an adult-size brain by the age of four or five.
These findings still do not reveal much about the causes of the disorder, nor do they offer possible treatments. However, they do suggest that the disorder is developmental and can be traced back to infancy and not a sudden onset due to environmental stimuli or vaccines — as had been previously suspected.
To read “Putting The Pieces Together: Understanding Autism” and “Autism: A Mother’s Story,” log on to www.comprehensivenet.com/newsletter.html.
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