Abstract
In autistic spectrum disorders, the early detection is fundamental to make the diagnosis and to start the multidisciplinary intervention as soon as possible. There is evidence that a specific early intervention carries on a better prognosis. Retrospective studies show that children with upheavals of the autistic spectrum are not diagnoses before three years olds, in spite of suspicion towards the 18 months of life or before. The family is the one first in detecting the problem and the average age of suspicion is around 22 months of age. Sings and symptoms that first call attention are communication and language alterations. Detection process is organized in two levels: monitoring of the normal development and early detection. The first level consists of watching the infantile development in a routinely way in all children, in a second level child neurologist and educators most be certainty that the child presents a normal development. If one suspects that child does not follow a normal development and alert signals appear, the specific detection is made in a depending age fashion. When suspicion is confirmed, it carries out the specific diagnosis. Subsequent to the diagnosis, a precocious intervention program must be individualized and designed in agreement with the necessities, abilities and difficulties of each boy.
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