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Recurrence rates for families with an ASD child

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What is the probability of having a future child with autism if you already have one or more? Families want to know. It helps preparation, planning, will hopefully improve early screening and supports. The Baby Siblings Research Consortium analyzed a bigger group of siblings compared to their 2011 numbers and found the recurrence pretty stable – 1 in 5 siblings will have an autism diagnosis compared to 1 in 36 in the general population. However, this number depends on a lot of things: Sex of infant, sex of sibling with an existing ASD diagnosis, number of autistic children in the family, race and socioeconomic status. Listen this week to hear all the numbers.

https://publications.aap.org/pediatrics/article/doi/10.1542/peds.2023-065297/197777/Familial-Recurrence-of-Autism-Updates-From-the?autologincheck=redirected

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38973707

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Moving the needle towards earlier diagnosis of autism spectrum disorders

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This week, the CDC published data that showed that the average age of first developmental evaluation for concerns was lowered by 5 months.  Five months is a lot to a family whose child is suffering and in need of help.  Separately, research out of Houston shows that many families are able to skip the formal evaluation and receive intervention prior to an established diagnosis based on demonstrated need that the child needs services.  This was the good news in autism, and while there is still a lot to be done especially with regards to racial and ethnic differences, public health is moving in the right direction on this issue.  But not all people with autism view their differences as symptoms or a disability.  What can we learn from people who use sign language to communicate to inform us about the way some people with autism communicate?  A special meeting called Conversations in Autism and Sign Language (CASL) brought experts and individuals on the spectrum to discuss.