Air date: May 22, 2011

Host: Jeremy Shere, PhD

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Primary Care segments are presented
by IU Health Physicians.

Did you Know? is presented by Wishard Health Services, becoming Eskenazi Health in 2014.

I’m Jeremy Shere.

Autism spectrum disorders can be notoriously difficult to diagnose. But did you know that a new checklist could help parents identify autism in toddlers early on?

The checklist is basically a questionnaire asking parents for information about their infants’ gestures, gaze, words, sounds, and other types of typical 1-year-old communication.

Researchers at the University of California, San Diego, found that the checklist was 75% accurate in diagnosing children with autism among more than 10,000 kids screened by San Diego area doctors. The greatest benefit for kids diagnosed with autism was that they were able to begin treatment at around 17 months old, as opposed to nearly 6 years old, which is the national average.

This is important because the earlier in life children with autism get treatment, the better they tend to fare in terms of learning and development.

And now you know.

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Did You Know is presented by Senior Care at Wishard, answering your questions at LivingLongerBetter.org.

Additional Resources:

• Take a look at the checkllist, which is called the "Communication and Symbolic Behavior Scales Developmental Profile Infant-Toddler Checklist." Via Medical News Today.