Los Angeles, California - August 15, 2011
About one in 110 U.S. children have autism. Now, a new study finds siblings of autistic children have a greater risk of having the disorder than first thought.
Crystal Gallegos' 4-year-old son William has autism. So she knew what to look out for when her daughter Sophia came along. "We noticed she was delayed at six months old," Gallegos said. "She could not sit up on her own... At a year, again no speech, no language."
A new study in Pediatrics shows the Gallegos family is not alone. Researchers looked at 664 babies who had an autistic sibling. They found those babies had a 20 times greater chance of having autism as well. In families with two autistic children, the risk of another sibling with the disorder increases to 32-percent.
"Our findings indicate that the incidence of autism or the recurrence of autism in families is at least double what we thought it was previously," said Dr. Ted Hutman with the UCLA Center for Autism Research and Treatment.
With the risk even higher now, experts say doctors will use the new findings to counsel parents of autistic children who want to have more children. "It's useful information from the aspect of family planning," Dr. Hutman said.
Crystal Gallegos credits advocacy groups like Autism Speaks for helping her find the right services for her children. "It's happening to so many families all over the place
And she says early intervention was key to getting her kids on the right track.
Sandra Hughes - CBS News
