Doctors looking for early signs of autism

Does your baby need a shrink? More and more, doctors are looking for the earliest possible signs of autism and other mental problems in babies. It is a growing field dubbed infant mental health. One study, published in April, found that babies are at high risk for autism if they fail to respond to their names by the time they are a year old. Some scientists believe that intensive treatment can prevent autism, attention deficit disorder and other problems. Interest in infant mental health has been fueled by awareness of attention deficit disorders and autism. Government officials now believe they affect one in 150 US children and may be more common than previously thought.