Summary
30 January 2012
Doctors say they may soon be able to diagnose autism at a much earlier age. A study on 104 children, published in the journal Current Biology, has identified differences in the brainwaves of babies that are as young as six months. However, the test is not yet accurate enough to be used routinely.
Reporter
James Gallagher
A child's brain scan on a computer
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Report
It is thought that one in every hundred children is born with autism. The first signs are behavioural problems between the first and second birthdays, but scientists think they may be able to spot the disorder even sooner.
Older children with autism can show a lack of eye contact. So researchers showed six-to-ten month-old babies images of faces looking either towards or away from the baby while brain activity was being recorded.
In those that did not go on to develop autism there was a large difference in the brainwaves when looking at each image. However, infants who did develop autism showed little difference in brain activity.
Doctors say they hope that if they can diagnose the condition earlier, they'll be able to begin specialist education and training programmes sooner and alleviate some of the symptoms.
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Vocabulary
- autism
the mental condition in which a person is unable to communicate or form relationships with others
- behavioural problems
issues relating to how someone functions in certain situations
- to spot
to identify
- disorder
illness or condition
- eye contact
looking directly into another's eyes
- brainwaves
electrical signals in the brain
- diagnose
work out
- conditions
illness or medical problem
- alleviate
make less severe
- symptoms
signs that show you are not healthy
