From Time Magazine, the Associated Press, U.S. News & World Report, and others.

The nation’s leading group of pediatricians is urging that all children be screened for autism twice by age two.

The advice is meant to help both parents and doctors spot autism sooner. There is no cure for the disorder, but experts say that early therapy can lessen its severity.

The American Academy of Pediatrics is releasing two reports that detail the call for early screening and the symptoms to watch for. They will appear in the November issue of the journal Pediatrics and on the group’s Web site — http://www.aap.org.

The two new reports say children with suspected autism should start treatment even before a formal diagnosis. They also warn parents about the special diets and alternative treatments endorsed by celebrities, saying there’s no proof those work.

Recommended treatment should include at least 25 hours a week of intensive behavior-based therapy, including educational activities and speech therapy, according to the reports. They list several specific approaches that have been shown to help

This entry was posted on Monday, October 29th, 2007 at 9:54 pm and is filed under News_2_Use, autism, medicine, treatments. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.  Email This Post