Groundbreaking autism research is happening right here in Massachusetts and parents say the program is changing lives.
Ten-year-old Colby Ostrowsky lives with autism and communicates without words.
Lauren and Dave Ostrowsky knew they wanted a second child and they knew there was a one in five chance the baby would also be born with autism.
“We did talk about it for a while, not that we didn’t want another child with autism but it’s difficult and we wanted to make sure they got the attention and the services that they needed,” she said.
When their second child, Camden, was born, they set out to determine if he had autism and enrolled him in a program through the New England Center for Children.
“They started coming out and observing him and testing him and fun playing things and that’s when they said you know you may want to get him evaluated,” Lauren recalled.
For most families, support for a child with autism occurs after a diagnosis, usually around 4-and-a-half years old.
But at NECC, Dr. Bill Ahearn and Dr. Erin Michaud are working to spot the signs much sooner.
“We’re looking for those early markers every two weeks from birth to 18 months,” Michaud said.
:”If we got those kids into early intervention as soon as possible we may be able to mediate some of those deficits or at the very least make it so that they can be as independent as possible,” Ahearn added.
That’s the goal of the Early Markers of Autism Project. Researchers have found 24 traits that may be early clues that a baby is on the spectrum. The most common, difficulty holding eye contact or focusing on objects.
Among the tests is showing a baby a rattle and seeing if they focus on it.
If they suspect autism, the doctors instruct parents on things they can do to clear those early roadblocks before they slow their development.
“If we can get some of those skills to develop early on, one thing leads to another, and so by starting early, we’re getting those communication milestones to happen on time,” Michaud said.
Camden showed developmental delays with both movement and speech but with intervention and plenty of play, he started catching up with other kids his age.
“He was just a little bit slower to get them but once he did it just exploded,” Ostrowsky said. “He’s such a great communicator.”
So far, NECC has supported 140 children. And while some children benefit from early interventions, others make so much progress that they no longer meet the criteria for an autism diagnosis.
Learn more: https://www.necc.org/
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