Un niño mira los bloques de madera de colores.

¿Cuándo suelen los niños presentar síntomas del autismo?

At what age do children show signs of autism?Los síntomas conductuales del trastorno del espectro autista (ASD) suelen aparecer en una etapa temprana del desarrollo.1 Muchos niños muestran síntomas de autismo para los 12 a 18 meses de edad o antes.2,3 Algunos de los síntomas tempranos de autismo son:4,5,6

  • Problemas con el contacto visual
  • No responden a su nombre
  • Problemas para seguir la mirada de otra persona o un dedo que señala un objeto (o “atención conjunta”)
  • Poca habilidad para los juegos que requieran "hacer de cuenta" e imitar
  • Problemas con la comunicación no verbal

Muchos padres no conocen estos síntomas “tempranos” del autismo y recién comienzan a pensar en el autismo cuando los niños no comienzan a hablar a la edad habitual.
La mayoría de los niños con autismo no son diagnosticados hasta después de los 3 años, aunque los profesionales de la salud con frecuencia observan problemas en el desarrollo antes de esa edad.7,8,9,21

Las investigaciones muestran que la detección temprana y la intervención temprana mejoran ampliamente los resultados,10 por lo que es importante tratar de detectar estos síntomas lo antes posible.11

Citas

  1. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th Edition. (2013). American Psychiatric Association: Washington, DC.
  2. Johnson, C. P., & Myers, S. M.; American Academy of Pediatrics Council on Children with Disabilities. (2007). Identification and evaluation of children with autism spectrum disorders. Pediatrics, 120(5), 1183–1215.
  3. Lord, 1995; Stone, 1999; & Charman, 1997. Como se cita en: Filipek, P. A., Accardo, P. J., Ashwal, S., Baranek, G. T., Cook, E. H. Jr., Dawson, G., et al. (2000). Practice parameter: Screening and diagnosis of autism. Report of the Quality Standards Subcommittee of the American Academy of Neurology and the Child Neurology Society. Neurology, 55, 468–479.
  4. Zwaigenbaum, L., Thurm, A., Stone, W., Baranek, G., Bryson, S., Iverson, J., et al. (2007). Studying the emergence of autism spectrum disorders in high-risk infants: Methodological and practical issues. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 37(3), 466–480.
  5. Yoder, P., Stone, W. L., Walden, T., & Malesa, E. (2009). Predicting social impairment and ASD diagnosis in younger siblings of children with autism spectrum disorder. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 39(10), 1381–1391.
  6. Rogers, S. J. (2009). What are infant siblings teaching us about autism in infancy? Autism Research, 2(3), 125–137.
  7. Barbaro, J., & Dissanayake, C. (2009). Autism spectrum disorders in infancy and toddlerhood: A review of the evidence on early signs, early identification tools, and early diagnosis. Journal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics, 30(5), 447–459.
  8. Shattuck, P. T., Durkin, M., Maenner, M., Newschaffer, C., Mandell, D. S., Wiggins, L., et al. (2009). Timing of identification among children with an autism spectrum disorder: Findings from a population-based surveillance study. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 48(5), 474–483.
  9. Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring Network Surveillance Year 2008 Principal Investigators, CDC. (2012). Prevalence of autism spectrum disorders – Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring Network, United States, 2012. MMWR Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 61(SS03), 1–19. Obtenido el 28 de diciembre de 2015 en http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/ss6103a1.htm en el contenido de Inglés
  10. Dawson, G., Rogers, S., Munson, J., Smith, M., Winter, J., Greenson, J., et al. (2010). Randomized, controlled trial of an intervention for toddlers with autism: The Early Start Denver Model. Pediatrics, 125(1), e17–23.
  11. Johnson, C. P. (2004). New tool helps primary care physicians diagnose autism early. AAP News, 24(2), 74.
  12. Goldberg, W. A., Thorsen, K. L., Osann, K., & Spence, M. A. (2008). Use of home videotapes to confirm parental reports of regression in autism. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 38(6), 1136–1146.
  13. Rodier, P. M., & Hyman, S. L. (1998). Early environmental factors in autism. Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities Research Reviews: Special Issue: Autism, 4, 121–128. Como se cita en: Lord, C., Shulman, C., & DiLavore, P. (2004). Regression and word loss in autistic spectrum disorders. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 45(5), 936–955.
  14. Werner, E., & Dawson, G. (2005). Validation of the phenomenon of autistic regression using home videotapes. Archives of General Psychiatry, 62(8), 889–895.
  15. Luyster, R., Richler, J., Risi, S., Hsu, W. L., Dawson, G., Bernier, R., et al. (2005). Early regression in social communication in autism spectrum disorders: A CPEA study. Developmental Neuropsychology, 27(3), 311–336.
  16. Ozonoff, S., Iosif, A. M., Baguio, F., Cook, I. C., Hill, M. M., Rogers, S. J., et al. (2010). A prospective study of the emergence of early behavioral signs of autism. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 49(3), 256–266.
  17. Anderson, J. S., Lange, N., Froehlich, A., DuBray, M. B., Froimowitz, T. J., Alexander, A. L., et al. (2010). Decreased left posterior insular activity during auditory language in autism. American Journal of Neuroradiology, 31(1), 131–139.
  18. Kaiser, M. D., Hudac, C. M., Shultz, S., Lee, S. M., Cheung, C., Berken, A. M., et al. (2010). Neural signatures of autism. Proceedings of the National Academies of Science USA, 107(49), 21223–21228.
  19. Shumann, C. M., Bloss, C. S., Barnes, C. C., Wideman, G. M., Carper, R. A., Akshoomoff, N., et al. (2010). Longitudinal magnetic resonance imaging study of cortical development through early childhood autism. Journal of Neuroscience, 30(12), 4419–4427.
  20. Wolff, J. J., Gu, H., Gerig, G., Elison, J. T., Styner, M., Gouttard, S., et al. (2012). Differences in white matter fiber tract development present from 6 to 24 months in infants with autism. American Journal of Psychiatry, 169(6), 589–600.
  21. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2016). Autism Spectrum Disorder Data & Statistics. Retrieved March 2, 2018, from https://www.cdc.gov/autism/data-research/ en el contenido de Inglés
  22. Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. (2017). Early brain changes may help predict autism among high-risk infants. Retrieved March 2, 2018, from https://www.nichd.nih.gov/news/releases/021517-autism en el contenido de Inglés
  23. Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. (2012). Variation in Brain Development Seen in Infants with Autism. Retrieved March 2, 2018, from https://www.nichd.nih.gov/news/releases/022212-autism-brain-networks en el contenido de Inglés