Stick Around to the End: On the early detection of autism

Parents Should Look for Autism Signs Early: Researchers’ Video Documents What to Look for in Babies and Toddlers proclaims a story on today’s Good Morning America. The early warning signs of autism are listed. “Timing is everything” when it comes to treating autism, says the latest Ped Med article. Four out of the eight autism bills proposed to the New Jersey State Assembly were approved yesterday: The bills that have been approved grant “millions of dollars to in-state researchers and therapists working on autism cures and treatments,” allocate $500,000 to launch a state autism registry, and launch an early intervention program to detect autism in children from birth to two years old (no word yet on the bills pertaining to adults with autism).

Hurry, hurry, hurry as I wrote in the previous post.

I am quite in favor of early detection of autism, though I suspect my view is colored by the fact that I believe that Charlie was born autistic; autism was not something he “developed” or “regressed” into. Always a sweet and smiling baby who liked hugs and being held, “Charlie was different” before his second and even his first birthday.

I watched ABC’s “groundbreaking” video on “spotting autism early.” Dr. Rebecca Landa of the Kennedy Krieger Institute described her research in identifying autism in infants; as I watched the videos of a child sitting placidly in a bouncey chair as his mother hovered busily, I thought of how long Charlie used to sit in his (he was late to sit on his own; he went through two bouncey chairs). Karen Siff Exkorn, author of The Autism Sourcebook: Everything You Need to Know About Diagnosis, Treatment, Coping, and Healing and the mother of a 9-year-old son who is “recovered” from autism, was shown watching the same videos with the ABC correspondent and listing the early warning symptoms. Both women were serious and upbeat about the importance of early detection.

Exkorn now consults with families who have autistic children and is quoted as saying this in an article in today’s The Journal News (Rockland County, NY):

There were so many challenges that came up along the way—everything from coping with Jake’s diagnosis to getting treatment services to keeping a marriage together. In my new business, the challenge is coaching parents to enjoy and accept their child in the moment.

“Enjoying and accepting their child in the moment”: I think this point needs to be made more prominently in any discussion of early detection of autism, while stories proclaiming that life with autism is a daily hell” need to be acknowledged. Yes, it is not always easy raising Charlie (just getting him onto the bus can have its interesting moments, as occurred this morning)—-and it gets easier because Charlie is growing up and learning more, and I try always to grow with him.

If we are going to emphasize detecting autism so much earlier, we ought also to make it clear that life with autism, and life raising an autistic child, are no death sentence. They are not the end but the beginning of the story.

And of a story so good, you can hardly wait to see what will happen when you turn the page.