How Autism Can Now Be Detected in Infants

Scientist Dr. Devon N. Gangi with a UC Davis MIND Institute research team released a study showing that Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) can now be detected in children under 12 months of age using behavioral observations.

Today, ASD is understood as a lifelong condition impacting verbal and non-verbal social communication and repetitive or restricted behaviors. There are no reliable biomarkers, and ASD varies in severity, so diagnosis is challenging and must be done through observing behaviors.

Prior to the most recent studies, experienced professionals could typically diagnose ASD in children around age 2 years old or older, however most would be diagnosed much later in life.

Dr. Gangi's team examined infants at ages 6, 9 and 12 months. They were siblings of children with ASD, making them high risk for the condition due to the known genetic component. They also examined low risk infants with no family history of ASD to compare.

At 36 months of age the out outcome was determined for all participants to determine whether or not they were diagnosed with ASD. This was done in accordance with the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.

The team monitored the gaze of infants looking at the face of an adult. When comparing children with vs. without ASD diagnoses, they found that during testing, those without ASD would gaze more at their parent's face than at the examiner's demonstration recognition.

The results showed a significantly shorter gaze and less occurrences of gazing at parents among Infants who would go on to be diagnosed with ASD. Both Low and high risk siblings who would be later found to not have ASD exhibited higher rates of gaze.

There are many types of proven assessment tools used to diagnose ASD. Others include the Early Social Communication Scales (ESCS) and the Communication and Symbolic Behavior Scales (CSBS). All of these measure social-communicative behaviors which are evident in early life.

Earlier detection is a major advancement because interventions can be successful. Parents can be coached on the best practices for interacting with young children with ASD, and this has shown immediate benefits to children's communication abilities, behavior and quality of life.

Follow @sciencesimplified  for more scientific white papers made simple. If you enjoyed this Memo you may also like this similar Memo: