A new study in the Journal of the American Medical Association, Evidence of Brain Overgrowth in the First Year of Life in Autism, may offer some insight into what causes autism.
The authors of the study examined the growth records of 48 children with autism and found that many of them had abnormal brain growth. Specifically, they had a smaller than average head size at birth (at the 25th percentile), but then had a period of rapid head growth during which their head size moved up to the 84th percentile by age 6-14 months.
What does this mean for parents, especially if their children have autism? Mainly the study offers some evidence that whatever the cause of autism, it likely begins before a child is born (and is perhaps genetic) or very early in infancy.
Parents shouldn't necessarily worry if their infant has a small head size though or if they follow a pattern of rapid growth in head size that was observed in the children in this study. Keep in mind that 25% of children have a head size at or below the 25th percentile and most of them won't develop autism. And 6% of healthy infants had a similar pattern of rapid head growth and didn't develop autism.
And rapid head growth is not a sign in all kids with autism. Of the autistic children in this study, 41% did not have this rapid head growth or increase in head size.
Still, rapid head growth may be an early warning sign of autism, so children with this pattern of growth in their head size will likely benefit from extra attention to how well they are developing and meeting their milestones.
Source:
JAMA 2003;290:337-344,393-394.
For more information:
Autism and Children
The authors of the study examined the growth records of 48 children with autism and found that many of them had abnormal brain growth. Specifically, they had a smaller than average head size at birth (at the 25th percentile), but then had a period of rapid head growth during which their head size moved up to the 84th percentile by age 6-14 months.
What does this mean for parents, especially if their children have autism? Mainly the study offers some evidence that whatever the cause of autism, it likely begins before a child is born (and is perhaps genetic) or very early in infancy.
Parents shouldn't necessarily worry if their infant has a small head size though or if they follow a pattern of rapid growth in head size that was observed in the children in this study. Keep in mind that 25% of children have a head size at or below the 25th percentile and most of them won't develop autism. And 6% of healthy infants had a similar pattern of rapid head growth and didn't develop autism.
And rapid head growth is not a sign in all kids with autism. Of the autistic children in this study, 41% did not have this rapid head growth or increase in head size.
Still, rapid head growth may be an early warning sign of autism, so children with this pattern of growth in their head size will likely benefit from extra attention to how well they are developing and meeting their milestones.
Source:
JAMA 2003;290:337-344,393-394.
For more information:
Autism and Children
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