Autism Can Be Detected In Two Month Old Babies Finds Study
Autism can be identified in babies as young as two months, early research suggests.
US researchers analysed how infants looked at faces from birth to the age of three.
They found children later diagnosed with autism had shown diminished eye contact – a hallmark of autism – in the first few months of life.
The findings, reported in Nature, raised hope for early interventions to tackle autism, said a UK expert.
In the study, researchers led by Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta used eye-tracking technology to measure the way babies looked at and responded to social clues.
They found infants later diagnosed with autism had shown a steady decline in attention to the eyes of other people from the age of two months onwards, when watching videos of natural human interactions.
Lead researcher Dr Warren Jones told BBC News: “It tells us for the first time that it’s possible to detect some signs of autism in the first months of life.
“These are the earliest signs of autism that we’ve ever observed.”
The study followed 59 infants who had a high risk of autism because they had siblings with the disease, and 51 infants at low risk.
Dr Jones and colleague Dr Ami Klin followed them to the age of three, when the children were formally assessed for autism.
Thirteen of the children were diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders – a range of disorders that includes autism and Asperger’s syndrome – 11 boys and two girls.
The researchers then went back to look at the eye-tracking data, and what they found was surprising.
“In infants with autism, eye contact is declining already in the first six months of life,” said Dr Jones.
But he added this could be seen only with sophisticated technology and would not be visible to parents.
“It’s not something that parents would be able to see by themselves at all. If parents have concerns they should talk to their paediatrician.”
Dr Deborah Riby, of the department of psychology at Durham University, said the study provided an insight into the timing of atypical social attention in children who might go on to develop autism.
“These early markers are extremely important for us to identify – the earlier we can diagnose a child who has one of these disorders – such as autism – the earlier we can provide intervention and development,” she said.
Caroline Hattersley, head of information, advice and advocacy at the National Autistic Society, said the research was “based on a very small sample and needs to be replicated on a far larger scale before any concrete conclusions can be drawn”.
“Autism is a very complex condition,” she said.
“No two people with autism are the same, and so a holistic approach to diagnosis is required that takes into account all aspects of an individual’s behaviour. A more comprehensive approach allows all of a person’s support needs to be identified.
“It’s vital that everyone with autism can access a diagnosis, as it can be key to unlocking the right support which can enable people with the condition to reach their full potential.”
The research is published in the journal Nature.
Same Difference 
What sort of ‘intervention’ is envisaged here? ABA?
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I noticed with my second baby that she did not look deeply into my eyes like my first baby had done. So I used to put my face right in front of hers and stare into her eyes. I made her look at me. I kept it up until we had deep eye contact a lot of the time. I breastfed my babies for around 2 years each. Much of the early days were spent staring into each others’ eyes. I am pretty convinced that this helped to wire up my baby’s brain better. Turns out she has a half brother who is autistic (same father different mother) and I have wondered for years if the intervention I did in her first few days, to make her connect with my eyes, helped to prevent possible problems … Of course it is only a mother’s speculation, but I do believe that connection between parent and child, eye to eye, with steady gazes for many hours is imperative for proper bonding. It may also be one thing other parents can try – if their babies do not look directly into their eyes for long periods of time, but instead they seem to look elsewhere (especially towards light sources), it is certainly worth a try. I literally forced my baby to look into my eyes over and over again until it was a natural part of our routine.
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