What is autism and what are the signs of Autism? Autism is a developmental disability that typically appears in the child’s first three years of life. Autism signs can be very simple. The three most common and easiest to detect signs are developmental delays in social skills, language and behavior. When problems occur in all these three spheres of development, and at a deeper level than the usual variations expected in ordinary children, the distinctive pattern of autism becomes evident.

It is important to see the early signs of autism because early developing social skills can be crucial to later language and social development. The child may have normal to high intelligence but are slower to acquire new knowledge or skills. Signs of autism in infants are usually not as easy to detect, because most children under the age of 1 year old show very little signs of autism, the signs they do show are hard to detect, because relationships, communication and activities are immature in all young babies. It is only when they become more sophisticated that delays and deviations from the usual may be evident.

The early symptoms of autism can include not smiling by six months of age, not babbling, pointing or using other gestures by 12 months, not using single words by age 16 months, not using two word phrases by 24 months, and having a regression in development, with any loss of language or social skills.

Parents are usually the first to notice unusual behaviors in their child or their child's failure to reach appropriate developmental milestones. If your child is diagnosed with autism, early intervention is critical to gain maximum benefit from existing therapies. Although parents may have concerns about labeling a toddler as “autistic,” the earlier the diagnosis is made, the earlier interventions can begin.

The “Autism, The Misdiagnosis of Our Future Generations” DVD is part of the “Know Your Options, The Medical Series” DVDs and tells the story of Dr. Buttar’s journey in treating Autism. The DVD documents his own personal reason for becoming involved in this field, and how his own son suffered from a developmental delay and subsequently fully recovered. The DVD documents the journey of a number of Dr. Buttar’s patients and the precipitating cause or “spark” which seems to underlie the causes of this delay in development.

10% of all proceeds go to support the non-profit AMESPA Children's Research and Treatment Foundation. Click the logo for more details