If your baby was born premature, and if you are worried about the risk of your baby developing autism, then it is good to consider the latest researches in this respect.

According to a study published in the Journal of Pediatrics, children who are born more than three months premature have double the expected rate of autism at age two as full-term children.

Video - Identifying early signs of autism in your child

Let’s look at some statistics from the study which was conducted using an assessment method via a survey of children behavior known as the Modified Checklist for Autism in Toddlers (M-CHAT).

Overall, about one in 10 of the extremely premature infants who did not have other health problems (including cerebral palsy, mental impairment, or vision or hearing problems) tested positive for autism at age two.

However, even if the child was tested positive, not all children who test positive definitely have the brain development disorder or autism. There are two main reasons for this:

1. Autism spectrum disorders (which include a range of diagnoses, from mild to more severe autism) aren’t typically diagnosed until age three or older
2. The M-CHAT is not considered a definitive test.

To quote Health.com :

“However, the finding is not surprising, according to Dr. Antonio Hardan, director of the Autism and Developmental Disabilities Clinic at the Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital at Stanford University, who was not involved in the study.

“We have to be in the womb for nine months for a good reason,” says Dr. Hardan. “There are a lot of steps of brain development that should occur in the right environment, and the ideal environment is in the womb.”

In the new study, which was conducted by a team led by Karl Kuban of the Boston University Medical Center and Boston Medical Center, 26 percent of children who were born extremely premature (27 weeks gestation or less, as opposed to a full-term of 37 weeks or more) had cognitive impairment, 11 percent had cerebral palsy, 3 percent had problems with vision, and 2 percent had hearing impairment.

Overall, 21 percent tested positive for possible autism when given the M-CHAT at age two. However, when the researchers excluded all children with cerebral palsy or other health problems, 10 percent of the extremely premature children tested positive for autism. About 5.7 percent of children who aren’t premature test positive on M-CHAT.

Hardan said in addition to brain development, premature birth also cuts short crucial nutritional and hormonal support.

“You put together being born at 27 weeks, prenatal complications, and the possibility of genetic vulnerabilities, and all these factors will add up to launch the process that can lead to autism,” he said.

Over the past decade, some research has suggested that autism may be on the rise. Hardan said that more awareness of autism, as well as a broadening of the definition of the condition, have played a role. However, the fact that more premature infants are surviving than in the past may have also contributed to autism rates, he said.

“Twenty or 30 years ago, the survival rate of a baby born premature was much less than it is now,” he said. “Today, thanks to medical advances, we are seeing these premature babies at age nine, or as teenagers, with emotional and behavioral symptoms similar to autism.”

The symptoms include a lack of eye contact, pointing and social interest. However, sluggish motor skills in an infant or toddler do not automatically mean a child has autism.

“Motor milestones [such as lack of eye contact] are often delayed in premature kids,” she said. “But we expect that a premature baby will not have any more complications by age two.”

If a child still has signs of autism past the second birthday, such as withdrawing from peer relationships, lack of speech, using repetitive language, and a persistent fixation on certain objects, it could mean he or she has autism.

“Kids without autism still have social interest, even if they have difficulty, but with autism, social communication skills are impaired or absent,” Warner said.

Although there is no cure for autism, treatment is available, and the earlier the better. Hardan and Warner recommend a formal evaluation for children if caregivers suspect something is wrong.

“You can go through the school system– it’s free,” Warner said. “It’s important to get a good handle on what the impairments are.”

People reading this article also read the following resources on autism:

1) Essential Guide To Autism - Discover Vital Information About Autism & Check For Autistic Traits - Get What Really Works. Click for details.

2) Complete Autism Package. 1 In 166 Babies Have Autism. Interview With Autism Expert Trained By Famous Dr. Andrew Weil. Click for details.

3) The Parenting Autism Resource Guide. A Complete Resource Guide For Parents Who Have Children Diagnosed With Autism. Click for details.

4) Positive Approaches To Autistic Spectrum Disorders. Short Books Offering An Informative And Positive Approach To Autism, Aspergers Syndrome And Dyspraxia For Parents, Carers And Teachers. Click for details.

5) Autism Essential Guide - The Complete Guide To Finally Understanding Autism. In Depth Report On Autism. Filled With Informative Literature The Reader Will Get The Real Facts About Autism And Learn How To Cope With The Stress Of Raising And Teaching An Autistic Child. Click for details.

Every parent of an autistic child is eager to help their children, and most are open to try out new alternative treatments, even those that have not been clinically trialled or scientifically proven to be effective. However, it cannot be denied that there is heavy anecdotal evidence of efficacy in a range of alternative treatments, including the following which have been reported elsewhere:

Stem Cell Therapy

There are reports of alternative treatment using Live Cell and Stem Cell Therapy. Here is a video showing a child with autism before and after she have had stem cell treatment.

Family Immersion Model to treating autism

Here is another video showing how one family’s experience at PACE Place, a family immersion program in Beaverton, Oregon is helping families living with autism in children.

Dr Rashid A Buttar’s Protocol

See the success of Shin Nicholas’ autism treatment using Dr. Rashid A. Buttar’s autism treatment protocol.

Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy

Follow this video to discover the results of treating Autism with hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy.

Facilitated Communication Technique
In order to facilitate the communication of an autistic child, this technique assumes that by supporting a nonverbal child’s arms and fingers so that he can type on a keyboard, the child will be able to type out his or her inner thoughts. However, diametrically opposite to this assumption, several scientific studies have shown that the typed messages actually reflect the thoughts of the person providing the support rather than those of the autistic child. Notwithstanding this, parents find this act itself to help the child and the parent, perhaps in bonding and allow a certain level of communication during the process.

Here is a video showing another assisted communication therapy session with a kid with a view to helping her communicate.

Here is a video showing how
Holding Therapy Technique
In this technique, the parent hugs the child for long periods of time, even if the child resists. Advocates of this technique claims that it forges a bond between the parent and child. Others are of the opinion that by doing so, the technique helps stimulate parts of the brain of the autistic child as he senses the boundaries of his or her own body. There is no scientific evidence, however, to support these claims. There are also objections towards the holding therapy because of the negative effects of “forcing” the child as you hug him or her.

Here is a video showing how speech and hugging is used to help an autistic child. In the words of the therapist:

“Whenever I arrive at Jacobs house he runs up, says hi, gives me a hug and reminds me of the fun things we have done together (it’s so cool). However, he did need a bit of help to get it grammatically correct. For example he would say “We go to Rainbows End!” (A theme park)He actually meant “We went to Rainbows End” I gently corrected him often but he would still say “go” instead of “went”. So we played this game where when he said “go” he had to spit it out and say “went”. After just one session he got it. Now he consistently says “went”. Here he just starts doing it for the fun of it. Constantly being corrected can affect one’s self-esteem, learning by playing a silly game can often be more effective with the added bonus of having fun together. ”

Auditory Integration Therapy
Auditory Integration Theraphy necessitates that the child listens to a variety of sounds with the goal of improving language comprehension. Supporters of this treatment suggest that it helps people with autism receive more balanced sensory input from their environment. When tested using scientific procedures, the method was shown to be no more effective than listening to music. However, this alternative treatment stands out as some parents report that children make significant behavioral and language gains following this treatment.

Here is a video showing the joy of learning by autistic kids through music.

Dolman/Delcato Method
Autistic people are made to crawl and move as they did at each stage of early development, in an attempt to learn missing skills since childbirth or to stimulate lost skills and bring them to the fore again. While there are no scientific studies to support the effectiveness of this method, it cannot be denied that a degree of movement would constitute physical exercise that can help the autistic child in learning co-ordination and movement abilities, rather than staying aloof and alone.

There are tools for these alternative methods such as the faciliated communication therapy, auditory integrated therapy and the Dolman Method listed on the right sidebar of this page that can help you make a quick start.