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Autism evident even in the cradle

Signs of autism are evident in the first weeks of life and getting in early could help curb the damaging behaviour that goes with the disorder, an Australian study said.

Researchers at Flinders University in Adelaide studied the siblings of autistic children as they have a heightened risk of also being sufferers.

“Many of the at-risk infants are showing early patterns of behaviour that’s consistent with autism even if they don’t go on to develop autism,” chief researcher Danielle Robson said.

The results suggested that within families there could be a very broad spectrum of the disorder.

Researchers were looking at the ability to pay attention, respond to their own name, respond to people and keep focus.

Autism is not usually diagnosed until a child is 3-years-old and some examples of the spectrum disorder are only picked up when the child has started school. Some sufferers develop normally and then suddenly regress.

By using tests to diagnose autism early, parents could begin early with therapy to address autistic behaviour.

Autism affects about six in 1,000 people, males with the condition vastly outnumber females and there is no known cure. The cause of the developmental disorder is poorly understood.