Testing Baby’s Brain

Health-care systems are not up to this task. In the United States, where health insurance rarely covers such treatments, the chances of having the government pay for therapy varies wildly from state to state. Children don't necessarily fare much better under national health care. The United Kingdom picks up the tab for treatment—but often only after the parents hire a lawyer and win their case at a regional "tribunal," where more often than not communities will fight to force the parents to settle for the few hours a week of therapy offered in a local special-education program. In Italy, toddlers with disorders who live near large cities in the north-central part of the country can get the attention of a team of therapists, but those in the southern, rural areas tend to get few services. Laurence Robel, a child psychiatrist and autism researcher at the Necker Children's Hospital in Paris, notes that France retains a bias against behavioral therapy, which critics compare to training a dog or programming a robot. "Away from Paris," she says, "children are lucky to receive much treatment at all."

Experts insist that governments are being penny-wise and pound-foolish in refusing to pony up for intensive therapy to infants and toddlers who show early signs of a developmental disorder. Simple, brief screening tests are now designed to flag children at risk as early as 18 months. Earlier diagnosis might be possible by measuring brain activity and recognizing patterns that are unique to autism. Researchers at the Baby Lab in Uppsala University in Sweden are looking for these patterns by placing dozens of soft-foam sensors on infant's heads.

The benefits of early treatment are likely to grow in coming years as new research into developmental disorders continues to pay off.

© 2008