Expert: James Michael Roan - 12/11/2006

Question
Hi,

My daughter just turned one on December 6th.  I have seen so much about autism lately and frankly the stories are terrifying.  I don't think that she shows many, if any signs, of autism right now, but I watch her like a hawk waiting for her to show signs of regression.  She can play peek-a-boo, clap with patty-cake, give kisses and love, say mama, dada, num-num, and wave "hi" and say "hi", and says doga for doggie. She can also kind of imitate a dog barking and likes to dance.   She cannot say "b" word like baba (bottle).  She also cannot say uh-oh.  Instead she says dah-dah for baba??  She is also very small for her age in the 3%, so I guess in my core, I can't shake the worry that something is wrong with her. She has been to every check-up and the doctor seems to think that she is fine.  My first daughter was always way ahead of schedule and a very animated baby.  My 12 month old is more passive and she also lets out short screams when she wants something or for no reason at all. She also is not very social with strangers - she used to be more social with strangers.  She also has an intolerance for wheat and I'm scared to death to give her cow's milk, I've heard there is a correlation.
Like I said, I'm not so worried about early onset autism,but regressive.  Is it really true that a baby can show all these good signs of development and just stop???  That is really scary.  Am I worrying over nothing?  Please help me to understand if my baby is at risk for regressive autism or is there is little chance.  I just want her to be well, I love her with all of my heart.  Thanks you

Answer
Hi Renee;

Other than physical development, it sounds like your little girl is coming along wonderfully.

Here's my short lecture on what is known about regressive autism:

1. It's relatively uncommon.

2. It tends to occur in children whose head size at birth is at or above the 97th percentile.

3. Development is normal until around age 3 when, usually in response to antibiotics, immunizations, or sickness they can regress over night. The large head circumference has be correlated to occur with weak immune systems.

4. The recommendations in this area are to request the MMR that DOES NOT have the Thimerosal lead-containing preservative and to break up the MMR injections into 3 separate injections at least 3 months apart.

Many children are gluten and/or casein intolerant. Check out celiac disease on the internet at http://www.celiac.org/  for detailed information. Gluten and/or casein are not considered as a cause, just occasionally co-existing with autism.

I don't really think you have anything to worry about.

In autism, we are most concerned about social awareness, social development, and social interactions. I suggest you download off the internet the Modified Checklist for Autism in Toddlers (M-CHAT) and the scoring instructions at http://www.firstsigns.org/downloads/m-chat.PDF

Although it is intended for older toddlers, you can score it every few months to document change.

Enjoy that little girl as much as you can...they grow like weeds!

Kind Regards,
James