Autism is one of the pervasive developmental disorders. It appears in early childhood, before the age of three, and then persists throughout life. Currently, the diagnosis can be established from about two years oldbut American researchers from Emory University School of Medicine have managed to detect this disease in babies aged two to six months.
For their study, published by the journal Nature, the scientists analyzed the eye movements of 59 infants suspected of being at high risk for autism for genetic reasons and 51 at low risk. Of these two groups, thirteen were subsequently diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. Conclusion: visual concentration gradually declines in autistic children from two months, as does gaze fixation on a person’s body or an object in front of them. “These observations mark early indicators of social disability from childhood, but they also tell us that gaze begins at normative levels before declining,” the researchers explain.
Thanks to this discovery, the risks of developing autism could be detected earlier by taking into account all the symptoms. The two authors of the study finally believe that this research offers “a promising opportunity for early intervention”.