Autism Screening for Preschoolers Premature, Study Says

There isn't enough sound, scientific evidence to justify physicians routinely screening young children for autism, a study published online June 13 in Pediatrics concludes.
After evaluating literature on the topic, researchers determined that autism screening programs have not been studied in randomized, controlled trials in a way that other community-wide screening programs, such as breast cancer screening, have been examined

Study Scrutinizes Autism Treatments

Three new studies conclude that many widely used behavioral and medication treatments for autism have some benefit, one popular alternative therapy doesn't help at all, and there isn't yet enough evidence to discern the best overall treatment.
Parents of children with autism-spectrum disorder often try myriad treatments, from drugs to therapy to nutritional supplements. The studies being published Monday and funded by the federal Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, were part of the effort to examine the comparative effectiveness of treatments in 14 priority disease areas, including autism-spectrum disorders.

Study: Decline in Cerebral Palsy Birth Rate

The chances of a child being born with cerebral palsy has plunged over the last two decades as perinatal medical care has improved, according to the findings of a new study.
Researchers from the Netherlands studied the rate of children born with cerebral palsy since 2000 and published their findings in the Journal of Pediatrics.