Interesting news

I recently received an e-mail with some very interesting news. This hit home with me because my son has this very issue.....


On May 17 at the International Meeting for Autism Research (IMFAR) in London, a presentation was given as part of the Baby Sibs Consortium, an Autism Speaks initiative where researchers study infant siblings of children with autism to better understand the early manifestations in order to begin effective interventions as early as possible. A network of scientists from 11 sites across North America gathered head growth data on 761 infant siblings at risk and 400 non-risk infants. Through measuring head circumference, a proportion of children with autism showed an atypical pattern of head growth early in life. Increased head circumference has been the most consistently replicated biological marker of autism as early as 1943 when it was first described by Leo Kanner.

It was found that infants who were later diagnosed with autism had a more rapid rate of head growth in the first 2 years of life than infants who did not develop autism. For example, they begin with average size head at birth, and enlarged head size by the preschool years. Monitoring head growth, can easily be done at a well-baby visit, and could be an early risk marker for autism in infants who have an older sibling with autism.

I remember at one check up, Calen's head size compared to other children his age was in the 90th percentile. I didn't think anything of it, mainly because Dr. Huffman-Parker never made an issue of it. I thought he just had a big head. My children's dad actually blamed me for his head being so large because I didn't "shape" his head when he was an infant. While reading this, I began to cry for my son. I feel guilty because I should have been asking why his head was growing so large. I've kept an eye on my daughter's head size, and she is normal. I failed my son a little....Mommy is so sorry, Calen. I love you.