Up until now, the disability was detected between the ages of one and two, but according to a recent study published in Current Biology, babies may show early signs of the condition much earlier than originally thought.
The research consisted of examining 104 autistic babies aged between six and 10 months, fifty percent of the tiny fellas were known to be at risk to the disability because their older sibling had the condition, the other half were believed to be at low risk.
You are probably asking yourself how a child at such an early age can show signs of autism; the clue is in their eyes. Autistic people have difficulty keeping eye contact. Bearing this in mind the babies had sensors attached to their scalps which monitored brain activity when pictures of somebody’s face altered between looking away and looking at the young child.
Those who fell in the high-risk category showed a considerable difference in brain activity opposed to the babies at low-risk.
However, those in charge of the research admitted the activity wasn’t 100% accurate, a percentage of the babies who fell in the high-risk category did not go on to have autism. In a similar case those in those in the low-risk category a small amount of the babies went on to contract the condition.
A Spokesperson for the National Autistic Society commented on the study,
"Further research to investigate these differences will eventually lead to earlier recognition of the condition.
"Early intervention is very effective in supporting those with autism, so recognition in infancy can only be beneficial in helping individuals with autism reach their full potential.
"However, this important research is still in its early stages, and larger studies looking at several early markers of autism will be necessary before a robust clinical diagnosis could be possible at such a young age."
Current research shows that one in 100 children in the UK has an autism spectrum disorder.
For more information on Autism and support visit the National Autistic Society website
