You cannot prevent someone from developing autism. But therapies are available that can make a big difference in the lives of people with autism.

With early intervention, you can help your child learn the skills they need to navigate social communication like facial expressions or verbal language.

Autism: Prevention Is Not the Goal

Developmental disorders are a group of conditions that impact an individual’s development in physical, mental, behavioral, and social areas, to the extent that the person may struggle with some type of daily activity or interaction.

Some developmental disorders can be pinpointed as a specific condition that occurs during pregnancy or early childhood. Many, like autism spectrum disorder (ASD), have no single cause to reduce, so they are not preventable or curable.

Autism spectrum disorder is a type of neurodivergence that leads to differences in a person’s ability to communicate, verbally and nonverbally, which can lead to social and behavioral challenges.

This is a complex condition with signs commonly noticed in children around 2 or 3 years old. However, if you have concerns that your baby might be showing early signs of autism, like avoiding eye contact or limited language growth, you can ask your pediatrician to monitor their development more closely. 

Understanding the Causes of Autism

Your child’s pediatrician will screen them at regular intervals for autism signs based on recommendations from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). These screenings typically occur at these intervals: 

  • 9 months old
  • 18 months old 
  • 24 months old 

Additional screenings may be necessary if more risk factors are present.

Risk factors for developing autism include the following: 

  • Family history of autism, which indicates a potential genetic risk
  • Having a sibling with autism
  • Some genetic or chromosomal conditions like fragile X syndrome or tuberous sclerosis
  • Older prescription drugs like thalidomide or valproic acid taken during pregnancy
  • Parents who are older during pregnancy
  • Being male
  • Being born prematurely

Autism occurs at the same rate among all racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic groups. Boys are believed to be more affected than girls, although adjustments to the understanding of symptoms and diagnostic criteria have led to more girls being diagnosed in recent years.

There are several complex factors that can increase the risk of a child developing autism, but they do not have to be present for a child to be diagnosed with autism. For example, you may undergo genetic screening to understand if you and your partner have any genes that are associated with autism; however, having these genes does not mean you will give them to your child or that they will cause autism in your child.

Instead of worrying about how to prevent your child from developing autism, it is crucial to understand that many people on the autism spectrum are successful and happy adults. The best way to support your child’s healthy development is to make sure your child receives medical attention, including autism screenings as recommended by AAP, and gets ABA therapy and other important interventions for your child if they are diagnosed with autism. 

Vaccines Do Not Cause Autism 

Some people believe that there is a link between vaccination and children developing autism. Others promote the idea that vaccines directly cause autism. This is not true.

Vaccines do not cause autism, and they are not correlated with an increased risk of autism. Vaccines and autism are unrelated.

Babies receive their first vaccines at 6 months old, and they may receive vaccines against various severe childhood illnesses throughout their first two years of life. Because autism signs can be recognized around 6 months old and autism can be reliably diagnosed around 2 years old, many parents may mentally link their child’s autism symptoms with having been vaccinated.

Vaccines protect children against dangerous diseases like measles, mumps, rubella, scarlet fever, and chickenpox. Talk to your child’s pediatrician if you have any questions about their recommended vaccination schedule.

One study in the late 1990s reported that vaccine ingredients caused autism, but several medical studies following this up did not find any link. One ingredient called thimerosal was considered to be the most likely culprit. This was proven wrong, but even so, it has since been removed from vaccine production, except for some flu vaccines. 

Neurodivergent vs. Neurotypical

The most likely cause of autism is differences in brain structure between people on the autism spectrum and those who are not. People with autism are often called neurodivergent compared to neurotypical.

About 1 in 44 children is on the autism spectrum, so there are many neurodivergent children growing up in a world designed for neurotypical children. Modern ABA therapy does not aim to change children on the autism spectrum to force them to act like their neurotypical peers. Instead, ABA helps children with autism learn skills to navigate a world that does not often accommodate different neural patterns.

This includes acquiring skills to understand facial expressions, body language, and nuanced verbal language. It may also include learning skills for daily personal care, scheduling, and managing emotions in the face of changes or upheaval.

Early childhood development is when the brain develops quickly, acquiring new skills faster than any other time in life. During this crucial development time, ABA therapy can help toddlers and young children develop social, language, and emotional regulation skills that will support them throughout school and into adulthood. 

How ABA Therapy Can Help

ABA therapy centers on operant and learning conditioning, and it’s based on studies and treatment plans developed by Dr. O. Ivar Lovaas in the 1980s. In two seminal studies conducted and published between 1985 and 1993, Lovaas and his team reported that 50% of the participants in their group “recovered” from autism after receiving extensive ABA therapy for most of their childhood and adolescence.

While the term recovered is not accurate, as autism does not go away, it does indicate that the participants experienced significant gains in skills to navigate social situations, manage their daily lives, and take care of their emotional and physical well-being.

ABA methods, as currently practiced, intend to: 

  • Increase “desirable behaviors,” such as breaking down each step of a process like brushing teeth so it can be completed independently, using words to ask for something clearly, or regulating emotions in the event of a schedule change.
  • Maintain these skills with regular practice, and transfer them to situations outside of therapy sessions.
  • Teach new skills as needed.
  • Reduce interfering, maladaptive behaviors that potentially harm the individual.

Narrow the conditions in which interfering behaviors occur so the child is able to self-regulate more.

Can a Child Grow Out of Autism?

There is no cure for autism, so children do not “grow out” of the disorder.

Further research suggests that a minority of children who are diagnosed on the autism spectrum at an early age (younger than 1 year old, for example) no longer show the core symptoms of autism, like emotional dysregulation or trouble with social signals, with ongoing intensive ABA therapy from a young age. However, estimates about the number of children in this group vary widely, ranging from 3% to 25% of children with ASD. These children may have another developmental disorder, another childhood mental or behavioral condition, or were misdiagnosed due to the mildness of the symptoms.

Subsequent small-scale studies and meta-analyses have shown that early childhood ABA therapy does help many children with mild or moderate autism symptoms navigate challenges such as social situations, school, and various life stresses more successfully.

For example, a study published in 2013 found that participants who had undergone intensive therapy for an early childhood diagnosis of autism reported similar scores on communication, language, and facial recognition compared to their neurotypical peers later in life. Another survey published in 2014 found that, of 85 children between the ages of 2 and 19, 32 study participants did not have an intellectual disability and 8 did not have measurable symptoms of autism anymore.

There are many benefits for people who have severe autism symptoms, but this group will need higher levels of medical and therapeutic treatment throughout their lives. Their ABA therapy sessions may continue indefinitely. 

5 Ways to Help Your Autistic Child

Autism spectrum disorder is a condition that remains with a person throughout their life. There are many supports, centered around ABA therapy, that can help the person from childhood, throughout their school years, and into adulthood.

Here are five steps to support your child when they receive a diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder: 

  1. Realize that there is no way to prevent autism, as it is a complex condition.
  2. Work with your child’s pediatrician to get an official diagnosis.
  3. Locate an ABA therapy provider who can start services for your child as soon as possible. 
  4. Understand that neurodivergent children are often exceptional and talented individuals, just like their neurotypical peers.

The purpose of ABA therapy and related supports is to help your child be as independent and happy as possible.

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