The latest numbers show one in 68 kids in the U.S. has some type of autism spectrum disorder.
Most kids with autism are diagnosed and treated around age three.
But what if you could spot the signs and treat these kids when they were just babies? Parents may be the key to success.
Life is never dull at the Hinson house. With five kids, Kristin Hinson is a mom always in demand.
Two of Kristins older sons have autism. So, when her third son, Noah, was a baby, she was worried.
"At about nine months, he was starting to kind of retreat a little bit," says Kristin Hinson.
Kristin enrolled Noah in a study called "Infant Start" to see whether certain changes she made when Noah was just a baby could improve his outcome.
"We're teaching parents how to corral their infant's attention. Helping them to increase their interest and increase the fun that they have in social interactions, says Dr. Sally Rogers of the UC Davis Health System.
As part of a pilot trial, researchers studied seven at-risk babies who were between six and 15 months. Parents received training sessions and used the methods they learned at home to increase social interaction while performing everyday activities, such as changing a diaper.
"For changing, the baby might be here and it's hard to get eye contact. So, it's like, what would happen if you're changing table moved and now the changing table was here," says Dr. Rogers.
Read this article:
Treating Autism in babies by changing how you play and interact