If a young child suddenly stops speaking, is autism to blame?
That is among the questions recently posed by readers of the
Consults blog. Here, Dr. Fred Volkmar, director of the Yale
Child Study Center, explores the issue of regression in children
and the diagnosis of autism. For more information on autism, see
the additional responses in “Ask the Experts About Autism,” and
The Times Health Guide: Autism. Hi, Professor Volkmar: Your
research history in autism is quite extensive. Of course, the
most pressing question in the autism arena involves whether or
not the observance of an apparent increase in children with
autism is a new phenomenon. One of the papers you authored in
2001, “Language Regression in Childhood,” states, “We conclude
that the loss of previously acquired language at any age, even
if that language only includes a few words or communicative
gestures, is often associated with a more global regression in
cognition and/or behavior and has serious implications for
future function.” A more recent