ST. LOUIS (KSDK) - The Missouri Autism Center at the Knights of Columbus Developmental Center is now offering the Autism Siblings Clinic. This is the first clinic in the area, and is affiliated with SSM Cardinal Glennon Children's Medical Center and Saint Louis University.
The Clinic houses an expert medical team, which provides autism and developmental assessment for children under the age of four who have a biological sibling with autism.
According to the Centers for Disease Control, the average age of an autism diagnosis is between 4-years-old and 6-years-old.
"Siblings of children diagnosed with autism are at significantly increased risk of having developmental delay or developing an autism spectrum disorder," said Rolanda Maxim, M.D., medical director of the Missouri Center for Autism Spectrum Disorders at SSM Cardinal Glennon Children's Medical Center and associate professor of Pediatrics and Psychiatry at Saint Louis University School of Medicine. "A recent study reported that up to 25 percent of boys and 10 percent of girls who have an older sibling with autism will go on to develop an autism spectrum disorder. Furthermore, up to 35 percent of siblings who do not develop autism will still have developmental delays or have some social communication deficits which would benefit from early identification and treatment."
Some of the kids participating in the study will be eligible for an ARISkRisk Assessment cheek swab test, which could identify the child's specific risk for autism.
For more information on the study, visit Cardinal Glennon's website.
KSDK