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An Attack on Autism
Early Diagnosis, Genetics and Intervention
By Kelly Burgess
The biggest benefit of diagnosing autism early is getting children into treatment early, say both Bell and Finucane. Very early therapies can literally make the difference between a baby becoming a child who can function well in society, and one who can not.
"We know that the brain is the most malleable at that young age and the best treatments will take advantage of that brain plasticity," Bell says. "When a child with autism is engaged and put into a structured environment, connections are literally made in the brain. Those kids can go on to do much better later in their lives."
Bell also notes that a lot of kids who have autism have co-occurring medical issues, an area that has been underappreciated and poorly understood. Some of these are dietary and manifest themselves in gastrointestinal problems, something that is recognized but not well-defined. Bell likens this phenomenon to that of diabetes, in that there is more than one type of diabetes. By the same token, Bell says, there is more than one type of autism. While there are no clear delineations of those "types," there is some evidence that at least one type may be linked to food allergies because when some children with autism and GI issues go on highly restrictive diets they do have a strong tendency to improve.
"There is a notion of recovery that is very real," Bell says. "There has been a long-standing assumption that once you're autistic you'll always be autistic, but that's no longer true. There is a portion of the population that responds so well to treatment that they will actually lose their diagnosis."
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