Autism prodrome 33 of 89
pattern of abnormal brain growth and the phenomenon of regression whose timing
soon follows on (though it has yet to be established whether this is true for individual
children) is easy to understand.
The phenomenon of regression is yet not well understood. Some parents report
a very abrupt change in their child’s development, most notably when early language
skills are lost. Others report a much more gradual change over several months. There
is increasing recognition that social skills and interest, play skills and sometimes
(though more rarely) motor skills can also be lost or plateau (Davidovitch, Glick,
Holtzman, Tirosh, & Safir, 2000; Ozonoff, Williams, & Landa, 2005; Werner &
Dawson, 2005). In addition it is also now understood that some children may lose
language skills that are not a firmly embedded as the currently widely used definitions
from the ADI-R (Lord, Rutter, & Le Couteur, 1994) ‘loss of 5 words used
communicatively for at least 3 months’), that Baird et al. (2008) characterized as
‘lower level regression’. Ozonoff and colleagues (Hansen et al., 2008; Young &
Ozonoff, in press) have reviewed the evidence for whether pre-regression
development was clearly typical and the children were asymptomatic and concluded
that this is not the case. In fact children can show the full range of patterns with some
children showing early symptoms before their 1st birthday and then losing skills whilst
others show no early signs but then undergo a regression (Young & Ozonoff, in
press). Across studies there is variability in the extent to which regression is
associated with poorer outcomes in terms of IQ, adaptive behavior or symptom
severity or even associated medical conditions such as gastro intestinal symptoms
(e.g. contrast the findings of Baird et al., 2008; Richler et al., 2006). Only in a
minority of cases is regression associated with the onset of seizures (Shinnar et al.,
2001; Tuchman & Rapin, 1997).
More intriguing information
1. 5th and 8th grade pupils’ and teachers’ perceptions of the relationships between teaching methods, classroom ethos, and positive affective attitudes towards learning mathematics in Japan2. The problem of anglophone squint
3. Analyzing the Agricultural Trade Impacts of the Canada-Chile Free Trade Agreement
4. Federal Tax-Transfer Policy and Intergovernmental Pre-Commitment
5. CHANGING PRICES, CHANGING CIGARETTE CONSUMPTION
6. CONSUMER ACCEPTANCE OF GENETICALLY MODIFIED FOODS
7. Are Public Investment Efficient in Creating Capital Stocks in Developing Countries?
8. The name is absent
9. WP 92 - An overview of women's work and employment in Azerbaijan
10. THE CHANGING RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN FEDERAL, STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS