Editor’s Note:  Thank you to Lindsey Biel for sending us this article.   In her note, to PediaStaff,  Linsdsey said, “This is HUGE. Armed with this knowledge, the hope is that new parents can get early intervention starting at BIRTH.”

[Source:  Yale News]
Researchers at the Yale School of Medicine have figured out how to measure an infant’s risk of developing autism by looking for abnormalities in his/her placenta at birth, allowing for earlier diagnosis and treatment for the developmental disorder. The findings are reported in the April 25 online issue of Biological Psychiatry.
One out of 50 children are diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder in the United States each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), but the diagnosis is usually made when these children are 3 to 4 years of age or older. By then the best opportunities for intervention have been lost because the brain is most responsive to treatment in the first year of life.
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