Although we’re almost through January now, it’s still early in the new year with months of possibilities and opportunities ahead of us. It really brings home the importance of acting early when it comes autism.
With an early diagnosis and appropriate interventions like the gold standard ABA therapy, children with autism and their families can make meaningful changes in their lives and improve outcomes that can shape a brighter future.
In this blog post, we’re going to look at what early means when it comes to the diagnosis and treatment of autism and why it’s so important for children and their families.
Are children being diagnosed early enough?
The short answer is no. But, according to the CDC, progress is being made to identify autism at an earlier age. They say that in 2020, children with autism were 1.6 times as likely as children in 2012 to be diagnosed by the age of 4. They credit improvements in practices among families, healthcare providers, and educators to evaluate and identify children with autism early.
While a diagnosis at the age of 4 is an improvement, children can and should be diagnosed even earlier to leverage the effectiveness of early treatment and support.
This National Institutes Health (NIH) article states that the onset of autism by definition is before 3 years of age. Keep in mind that’s at least a year earlier than when the CDC reports children are being diagnosed. That one year deprives a child of critical support they need during their most formative years from birth to 5 years of age.
The NIH article goes on to point out that children on the autism spectrum can reliably be identified as young as 2 and that many children exhibit recognizable delays in social interactions in their first year of life!
Why is early diagnosis of autism so important?
An early diagnosis around the age of 2 means a child can access effective care and therapy that can have the biggest impact on their development.
At birth, a child’s brain is like a giant sponge, soaking up information from every interaction the child has with people, places, and things in their environment. For example, children begin to learn essential social skills around the age of 1 when they start communicating with others. By the age of 5, they will have developed a foundation for learning and interacting that will serve them for the rest of their life.
With autism, there are gaps in that foundation that will impact a child’s development. The gaps can vary in type and severity from child to child, creating the spectrum in autism spectrum disorder (ASD).
Early intervention for autism before the age of five helps to fill the developmental gaps a child has. Research has proven that early interventions like ABA therapy can have a significant impact in the areas of social, cognitive, and language development of children as well as on their daily living skills and ability to make eye contact and share emotions. It has even shown to increase a child’s IQ.
A recent study in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) from 2023 offers even more promising news about early intervention for autism. It studied the persistence of autism in children, measuring how children in the study met the criteria for a diagnosis at 12-36 months and then at 5-7 years of age.
The researchers found that 37 % of the children studied did not meet the criteria for an autism diagnosis by the age 7. Early intervention was found to make a difference in the children’s symptoms.
What can parents do to ensure their child gets an early diagnosis?
It’s clear that early diagnosis is the key to accessing early interventions that help children live their best possible life. Here’s a look at what you can do as a parent to ensure your child receives an early diagnosis as soon as the age of 2:
- Monitor and keep track of your child’s development. You’ll want to watch for how your child grows, moves, communicates, interacts, learns, and plays. Children should reach certain milestones as they grow. If your child doesn’t meet a milestone or you suspect something is off, you should tell your child’s doctor as soon as possible. The CDC’s “Learn the Signs. Act Early.” program provides handy milestone checklists to use, starting when your child is just two months old.
- Make sure your child’s doctor screens for autism at 18 and 24 months of age.
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that all children are screened for autism at these ages, typically during regularly scheduled well-child visits. The doctor should use a validated screening tool that can identify whether or not a child is learning basic skills and help determine if there might be a delay.
- Don’t wait to get a comprehensive evaluation from an autism specialist. If you and your doctor suspect autism, get your child evaluated as soon as possible by a qualified professional, such as a developmental pediatrician or child psychologist who specializes in autism. With a comprehensive evaluation, a diagnosis can be finally be made. And in the case of a positive diagnosis for autism, you can start early intervention as soon as you find a provider.
- Consider a second opinion if your child is diagnosed with ADHD or sensory processing difficulties before the age of 5, but not autism. It’s common for children with autism to also have ADHD and/or sensory processing challenges. They can all go hand in hand. However, for a variety of reasons, many children are only being diagnosed with ADHD and/or sensory processing difficulties at an early age. It’s not until the demands of school and social situations reveal children also have autism. This delay in a diagnosis means children have missed out on receiving treatment at the critical time in their development from birth to 5 years of age.
Thinking and acting early is the key to your child’s success when it comes to navigating autism. Don’t wait to get a diagnosis and the appropriate interventions that will help your little one shine through.
For expert support in North Texas and the Boulder, Colorado areas, reach out to our team here at The Behavior Exchange. We’d love to share our 20+ years of experience with autism and early intervention ABA therapy with your child and family. Just call 972.312.8733, email [email protected], or complete our contact form to get the conversation started.
