about substantial improvement. Educational/behavioral strategies emphasize highly structured and often intensive skill-oriented training that is tailored to the individual child. Therapists work with children to help them develop social and language skills. Because children learn most effectively and rapidly when very young, this type of therapy should begin as early as possible. Recent evidence suggests that early intervention has a good chance of favorably influencing brain development. With medication intervention, doctors may prescribe a variety of drugs to reduce self-injurious behavior or other troublesome symptoms of autism, as well as associated conditions such as epilepsy and attention disorders. Most of these drugs affect levels of serotonin or other signaling chemicals in the brain. The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Strokes (NINDS) is the Federal Governments leading supporter of biomedical research on brain and nervous system disorders, including autism. The NINDS conducts research in its laboratories at the National Institutes of Health, in Bethesda, Maryland, and supports research at other institutions through grants. NINDS-supported research includes studies aimed at identifying the underlying brain abnormalities of autism through new methods of brain imaging and other innovative techniques. Some scientists hope to identify genes that increase the risk of autism. Others are studying specific aspects of behavior, information processing, and other characteristics to learn precisely how children with autism differ from other people and how these characteristics change over time. The findings may lead to improved strategies for early diagnosis and intervention. Related studies are examining how the cerebellum develops and processes information, how different brain regions function in relation to each other, and how alterations in this relationship during development may result in the signs and symptoms...
