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Early Autism Treatment Shows Promise

By On · Add Comment · In autism, behavior treatment, children, communication, Early Start Denver Model (ESDM), learning deficits, nuerodevelopmental disorder, social interaction, Son-Rise
Encouraging news for parents of autistic children: The first rigorous study of behavior treatment in autistic children as young as 18 months found that two years of therapy can vastly improve symptoms, often resulting in a milder diagnosis. Although small (only 48 children), the study out of the University of Washington had such encouraging results that it has been extended to several other sites.

Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by by impaired social interaction and communication, and by restricted and repetitive behavior. These signs all begin before a child is three years old. Children with autism might also have co-morbid disorders including intellectual impairment, seizures and anxiety. The parts of the brain involved in autism include the frontal lobes, amygdala and cerebellum.

The study showed that early autism treatment led to increased IQ and improved language skills. Almost 30 percent of the children receiving early treatment were re-diagnosed with a less severe form of autism after two years, versus 5 percent of the others. No children, however, were considered “cured.”

The study followed the Early Start Denver Model (ESDM) of early autism treatment, a form of behavioral training that focuses on social interaction and communication, which are both difficult for many autistic children. Because ESDM believes that families should be at the helm of their childrens’ treatment, parents worked along with therapists in teaching coordinated, interactive social relations through rewarding social engagement and developing joint play activities designed to build skills and “fill in” learning deficits. If you are interested to learn more about ESDM, please visit their site here.

This is very good news for autistic children and their parents. Early autism treatment is not new–the Son-Rise home-based program has been around since the 1970s–but this is the first to show, empirically, behavioral treatment improving outcomes for autistic children. Autism is complicated by many factors including classification and which treatment option is best. This study at least moves the field of autism treatment a little closer to verifiable and reproducible results. Bravo!

Childrens’ Vocabulary Linked to Pointing

By On · Add Comment · In communication, education, gesturing, hand gestures, infant, toddler, vocabulary

When speaking to your infant or toddler, gesturing will help increase his or her vocabulary. Scientists have found that the more a child can communicate with gestures, the richer the vocabulary when starting kindergarten. And the ability to use hand and arm gestures to express oneself might be translated later into a better education overall.


University of Chicago researchers looked at the communication habits of fifty Chicago-area families of varying socioeconomic status. They found that the children (aged 14 months) whose parents used the most gesturing to communicate with them (and vice versa) had the greatest vocabulary. The gestures were not a form of sign-language but instead a way to communicate everyday concepts and objects–for instance, pointing at an object while naming it, “Yes, that’s a dog,” or signifying directionality like “up” “down” or “big.”

Another interesting find was that families of higher socioeconomic status tended to use more gestures on average than those of lower income and lower educational status. The way parents talk to their children from babyhood onward has been previously found to influence vocabulary early on; and it persists into later life, ultimately leading to better overall education. On average, children from higher socioeconomic families produced 25 meanings in a 90-minute period, while poorer children produced only 13. This study does a good job of explaining at least one reason why poorer children enter kindergarten with smaller vocabularies than their financially better-off classmates. Kindergarten vocabulary is a predictor of how well youngsters ultimately fare in school.

So the take home lesson here is when speaking with Junior, use lots of hand gestures. Hey, you don’t have to be Italian or from Brooklyn to get into talkin’ witchya hands. Heck no, start today–you’ll be doing your kids a great service in the learning department, as communication is the first form of problem solving. Getting started early in brain training is often of great advantage; but saying that, it’s not too late to start with your toddler now, either.

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