Do You See Any Younger Siblings Who Show Signs Of Autism But Later Improve Rapidly?
Dr. Zwaigenbaum answers the question: 'Younger Autism Siblings Improving Later?'
Oct. 23, 2008 -- Question: Do you see any younger siblings who show signs of autism but later improve rapidly?
Answer: You know, certainly in the studies of infant siblings of children with autism, there have been infants identified who do seem to undergo a more fluctuating course. So as, whereas there are many infants that are doing perfectly fine and some infants where there are, you know, quite significant difficulties apparent by year and really do persist, there are certainly a small subset of children where the symptoms do evolve and change over time.
And whether that's age-related or kind of context-dependent in terms of how the infant is feeling that day or the environmental factors when they're being assessed, we certainly do see children who show early indicators of autism. And through support by the experienced parents and particularly the support of experienced interventionists who are sensitive to the developmental needs of infants and specialize in helping infants develop communication, social and play skills, we've certainly seen infants who've shown early indicators and then do improve remarkably and, by the age of two or three, are functioning really quite well.
