Early Diagnosis
Parents of children with AS can typically trace differences in their children's development to as early as 30 months of age, although diagnosis is not made on average until the age of 11. By definition, children with AS develop language and self-help skills on schedule, so early signs may not be apparent and the condition may not be diagnosed until later childhood. Impairment in social interaction is sometimes not in evidence until a child attains an age at which these behaviors become important; social disabilities are often first noticed when children encounter peers in daycare or preschool. Diagnosis is most commonly made between the ages of four and eleven, and one study suggests that diagnosis cannot be rendered reliably before age four.
Read more about this topic: Diagnosis Of Asperger Syndrome
Famous quotes containing the word early:
“If there is a price to pay for the privilege of spending the early years of child rearing in the driver’s seat, it is our reluctance, our inability, to tolerate being demoted to the backseat. Spurred by our success in programming our children during the preschool years, we may find it difficult to forgo in later states the level of control that once afforded us so much satisfaction.”
—Melinda M. Marshall (20th century)