Co-Existing Conditions May Explain Why Autism Diagnosis Can Change

Co-Existing Conditions May Explain Why Autism Diagnosis Can Change


Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are more likely to have a co-occurring neurodevelopmental or psychiatric condition, such as a learning disability or depression. Differentiating between these diagnoses can be challenging, and some children originally diagnosed with ASD no longer meet the criteria for an ASD diagnosis as they grow older.

In the study, "Co-occurring Conditions and Change in Diagnosis in Autism Spectrum Disorders," in the February 2012 Pediatrics (published online Jan. 23), researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health examined the relationship between co-occurring conditions and changes in diagnosis of ASD. Using data from the National Survey of Children's Health 2007, study authors found the type of co-occurring conditions was dependent on the age of the child.

Young children (aged 3-5 years) with a current ASD diagnosis were more likely to have a moderate or severe learning disability or developmental delay compared to children with a past but not current ASD diagnosis. In children ages 6-11, those with a current ASD diagnosis were more likely to have had a past speech problem or current moderate or severe anxiety compared to children with a past but not current ASD diagnosis. Among adolescents (aged 12-17), those with a current ASD diagnosis were more likely to have moderate or severe speech problems or mild seizures or epilepsy compared to children with a past but not current ASD diagnosis. Both children and adolescents with a current ASD diagnosis were less likely to have had past hearing problems than those with a past but not current ASD diagnosis. In all age groups, children with a current ASD diagnosis were more likely to have two or more co-occurring conditions compared to children with a past but not current ASD diagnosis.

The study results suggest some co-occurring conditions may, in part, lead to a change in an ASD diagnosis, though the mechanisms underlying this change remain unclear.

The American Academy of Pediatrics is an organization of 60,000 primary care pediatricians, pediatric medical subspecialists and pediatric surgical specialists dedicated to the health, safety and well-being of infants, children, adolescents and young adults.

Read more: http://www.thecypresstimes.com/article/MedicalHealth/Medical/COEXISTING_CONDITIONS_MAY_EXPLAIN_WHY_AUTISM_DIAGNOSIS_CAN_CHANGE/55393

Newborn preemies more vocal when parents are near

Even tiny preemies hospitalized after birth can make baby sounds -- especially when their parents are talking to them, a small study suggests.

Very premature babies are known to be slower-than-average in picking up language skills. That can be due to various reasons, including health problems they may have as newborns.

It's not known whether the sounds preemies hear soon after birth, and their own ability to vocalize, are related to their later language development. But premature infants who spend their early days in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) are in a much different sound environment than they would be if still in the womb, said Dr. Melinda Caskey, a pediatrician at Women and Infants Hospital in Providence, Rhode Island, and the lead researcher on the new study.

In the womb, mom's voice is the most prominent sound, Caskey said. In the NICU, the beeps and whirs of medical equipment abound.

Until now, though, no studies had looked at how much language NICU preemies hear during their day.

Caskey's team found that in their hospital NICU, it was surprisingly little -- with monitor sounds, general noise and silence being much more common.

"It's very striking," Caskey told Reuters Health, "especially when you compare that with what the fetus hears."

What's more, the study found, when preemies were hearing adults talk -- their parents, in particular -- they were more vocal themselves. That usually meant making short vowel sounds.

Read more: http://www.baltimoresun.com/health/sns-rt-us-newborn-preemiestre79j5ki-20111020,0,6665194.story

Millions Watch Twin Baby Boys Babble: Are They Truly Talking?

By Bonnie Rochman Thursday, April 7, 2



One of my favorite children's books, Before You Were Born, recounts the legend of the angel Lailah, whom rabbinic lore has accompanying babies in utero, sharing the history of their souls. When they're born, Lailah touches them gently above their lip, leaving an indentation and causing them to instantly forget all the wisdom she's imparted. Ostensibly the ability to speak goes out the window as well, leaving a babe to slowly piece together the nuances of language over many years. Apparently, the twin brothers who've become YouTube darlings didn't get the memo.

Millions of people have watched the baby boys, clothed only in diapers and socks, appear to have a full-fledged conversation in their kitchen relying on just one syllable repeated over and over. “Da” becomes a question, an exclamation, a statement. There is cadence and inflection and intuitive understanding of the need to take turns, with one listening while the other babbles. With the accompanying hand gestures — and even the occasional kung-fu-like kick — it feels hard to deny these guys are having a real convo in their own private language.

Babies should be babbling by 10 months and using identifiable words by 14 months, on their road to slapping full sentences together. The twins in the video are using what's known as “reduplicated babbling,” in which they repeat a sound, according to Hope Dickinson, coordinator of Speech-Language Pathology Services at Children's Hospital Boston at Waltham, who spoke with Thrive, the pediatric health blog of Children's Hospital Boston.

Read more at the link.