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Written By: Editorial Team | Updated : October 8, 2014 10:25 AM IST
A new study has revealed that children who are conceived either less than 1 year or more than 5 years after the birth of their prior sibling are more likely to be diagnosed with autism than children conceived following an interval of 2-5 years.
The study found that the risk of an autism diagnosis among children conceived less than 12 months following a sibling's birth was one and a half times as high as those conceived following an interval of 24-59 months. Children conceived following an interval of 60-120 months were almost 30% more likely to be diagnosed with autism. For intervals of more than 120 months, the risk of autism was over 40% higher. (Read: 10 things every child with autism wishes you knew)
Cheslack-Postava said that it was intriguing to see that the risk of ASD diagnosis was higher in both closely and distantly spaced pregnancies. It is important to realize that we can't say from this study that spacing of pregnancies per se is a cause of ASD-this is most likely a proxy of other factors that are more directly related to the chance of the child's developing ASD. In other words, the importance of this finding lies in the clues that it can provide in terms of understanding how the prenatal environment is related to outcomes after birth. (Read: Simple way to help detect autism earlier a five minute questionnaire)
The study was published in Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.
Here are some tips for parents to deal with autistic children
Limit use of audio visual devices: If you know that your baby has autism it is even more necessary to limit usage of all the electronic devices like the smart phones, iPhones, iPads or even television viewing. These devices are known to hamper mental development in a child. These devices are passive medium of entertainment and don t help in cognitive development of a baby. Instead invest in toys that are interactive like push button toys that have lights, music, rhymes for specific ones. These interactive ones can help in stimulating the brain, says Dr Gadgil.
Keep off processed foods: Don t allow or overload your baby s plate with junk or processed foods. The chemicals present in the processed and can foods can have an effect on the neurological development of the babies suffering from autism, informs Dr Gadgil.
Encourage conversations: Talk to your baby and do that often. Human interaction is more necessary in children suffering from autism. Tell stories, rhymes or just talk to your baby. This provides a lot of stimulation to the baby and helps to encourage social behaviour, informs Dr Gadgil. Though you cannot expect a total change in behaviour and better communication skills in your baby soon even with your best attempts, but don t give up. These actions will do her a great deal of good to help her brain take in the command albeit slowly. Read more about 6 tips for parents to deal with autistic children
With inputs from ANI
Photo source: Getty images
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