Autism: Early Understanding Of Signs Leads To Right Treatment

PUTRAJAYA, April 24 (Bernama) -- Understanding early signs of autism in children will enable parents to the right treatment and better progress, says a professor from the University of California, United States. Dr Connie Kasari said evidence of early intervention had shown a long-term positive impact for autistic children. She said effective intervention in behavioural aspects could increase higher cognitive skills, better language skills and improve social skills, as well. "Families are less stressed and happier as the result of a combination of very structured and naturalistic strategies," she said when addressing autism concerns at the 2014 International Seminar Autism Malaysia here Wednesday. She was presenting a working paper entitled, 'State of the Art-Early Intervention Strategies in Autism' at the plenary session here. The seminar, organised by Permata, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia and New York-based autism organisation, Autism Speaks, was attended by 1,000 local and foreign participants. Dr Kasari said the need to develop very early intervention should be carried out as early as 12 months of age because at that particular age, autistic babies might start losing social communication skills or fail to make progress. "The earlier the child is diagnosed, the greater the chance of achieving significant improvement with the implementation of effective intervention," she noted. Behavioural intervention required intensification, among other sessions, and should involve more than 20 hours per week of interaction and carried out by highly-trained professionals, she said. She stressed that behaviour should be the target for both diagnosis and treatment. -- BERNAMA