Analysis of home videos has provided evidence to back up parents' claims that some autistic children initially develop normally, before regressing as toddlers.

Some parents of children with autism maintain that their infant had normal or near-normal development until 15 to 24 months old, before experiencing a regression in communication or social skills.

Researchers from the University of Washington in Seattle, USA, who looked at video footage of autistic children when they were aged between eight and 12 months, say: "Whilst we cannot be certain from these data that children with autistic regression were developing normally before the regression occurred, the results of the present study suggest that at least some children with autism do not display prototypical impairments in joint attention... nor do they display obvious delays in their use of language."

Home video footage of 56 children as babies was assessed by the investigators. Thirty-six of the children had since been diagnosed with autistic spectrum disorders, although in 15 of these cases the parents maintained that signs of autism were not apparent until the second year of life. The remaining 20 children showed ordinary patterns of development.

Focusing on the frequency and duration of behaviours such as language, gaze, repetition, emotion and play, the researchers were able to compare early development between the three groups. They also interviewed the parent or guardian who provided most care for the child in the early years about social responsiveness, language skills and temperament.

Children who experienced regression were comparable to normally-developing children in terms of how frequently they communicated with babble or words and engaged with joint attention, such as pointing. However, these activities were found less frequently in the footage of the 21 children with early-onset autism, it is reported in the latest issue of the Archives of General Psychiatry.

Speaking to MedWire, Professor Geraldine Dawson, co-author of the study, said the research highlights the importance of continuing to check for autism during the toddler years.

"The more we understand about the early course of autism and possible subtypes of autism, the more likely we will be able to identify the different causes of autism," she commented.

"I was not surprised by the findings," added Professor Dawson. "Historically, research has shown that parents are generally reliable reporters on their children's development.

"This is another case in which parents' observations turned out to be correct."

Useful Links
Archives of General Psychiatry
University of Washington
The National Autistic Society