Weaning time of children with infantile autism.

Researchers asked parents when they stopped breastfeeding their child. They compared 145 kids later diagnosed with autism to 224 kids without autism. Parents gave the dates from memory in a survey.

The team wanted to see if weaning age differed between the two groups.

Autistic children were weaned earlier on average. The difference was large enough to be unlikely by chance. The authors suggest early weaning might be linked to later autism, but they stress this is only a clue, not proof.

Burack et al. (2004) extends the finding. They looked at school-age kids and found autistic children had more feeding problems and ate fewer foods. Early weaning may be the first sign of a lifelong feeding pattern.

Patton et al. (2020) also extends the result. They watched kids at home and saw that those with more severe autism refused new foods more often and needed more parent prompts. The feeding issue seen in infancy continues into the preschool years.

Gillberg et al. (1983) is a predecessor study. They reviewed medical charts and found more pregnancy and birth complications in autistic children. Both papers use past records to flag early risk but focus on different clues—feeding versus medical events.

You cannot change weaning history, but you can screen for feeding issues today. When an autistic child shows food refusal, ask parents about early weaning and current food list. Use this info to plan gradual food exposure and reduce mealtime stress.