Early detection of Autism

I heard Rebecca Landa speak recently. She had some breath taking video's of her research there are two older ones on her website. If you ever hear of a conference and she is going to be there, go. Autism can be detected in babies as young as 6-14 months by watching their social development. Some recover with treatment and others go on to be diagnosed on the autism spectrum. Most parents notice something different between 15-21 months of age. Here is what you look for to detect possible autism earlier...


1. joint attention - sharing others’ focus of attention as when looking where they are looking, or by getting others to share your focus of attention by pointing things out to them

2. imitation

3. affect sharing - smiling while giving eye contact to another person

4. social communication