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For parents, a child with a fever is usually cause for worry. But according to an intriguing item that appeared in this monthʼs Pediatrics, fever could prove a mixed blessing for a child with autism.

According to the study, kids with autism who have a fever ― defined as a temperature of above 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit ― seem to make more eye contact, concentrate better and have a better grasp of language. When the fever subsides, these effects also disappear.

Inspired by anecdotal reports from parents and doctors, scientists at the Kennedy Krieger Institute in Baltimore documented the phenomenon in 30 children between the ages of 2 and 18. Four of every five children showed some improvement in behavior when they had a fever, according to the study.

The scientists’ explanation is that fever somehow improves the way neurons talk to each other in the brains of individuals with autism, perhaps through immune proteins called cytokines, which are generally produced by the body during a fever. In some newspapers, the lead researcher went on to say that his results indicate that the basic networks in the brains of those with autism seem to develop normally.

Here’s where I had trouble.

The results are no doubt interesting and may merit further study, but there are many, many variables to consider. Of the 30 kids, a small sample size to begin with, the kids had different disorders on the spectrum, in a wide age range, and only improved if they had a fever resulting from a viral illness, such as flu. And the conclusions are based on questionnaires that parents filled out while their child had the fever.

Given all those caveats, isn’t it premature, to say the least, to draw such far-reaching conclusions?