New Ways to Diagnose Autism Earlier Detection at Younger Ages Leads to
Greater Gains in Language And IQ; Predicting Risk With Eye-Movement
Sensors
By JEREMY SINGER-VINE
Wall Street Journal: July 8, 2008; Page D1
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121545978096433273.html

With the number of autistic children growing, researchers are
targeting new technologies to help detect the disorder at ever-younger
ages in hopes of reversing some of autism's worst symptoms.
A Yale University research video shows an infant undergoing an
eye-tracking session as part of a study to identify behavior in very
young children that could indicate a risk of developing autism.

Most autistic children currently aren't diagnosed until they are about
4 years old, using conventional detection methods of observing
behavior. Although specialists are able to identify the condition
starting at about 30 months, most parents don't seek evaluations that
early because they don't notice anything unusual about their children,
or don't know what symptoms to look for. Now, scientists are using new
techniques to study children as young as a few months old for signs of
possible autism and to flag them for more extensive analysis.

By identifying children early who may be at risk of developing autism,
even without a definitive diagnosis, parents can consider initiating
behavioral therapy, the most widely validated treatment for the
condition. Studies of autistic children indicate that preschool-age
kids receiving intensive treatment show greater gains in language and
IQ scores than children whose treatment begins at older ages.
Behavioral therapy includes such measures as encouraging children to
look at people's faces, express emotions and curtail any repetitive
tics. But diagnosis and therapy can be expensive, and insurance
coverage for autism treatment is spotty, especially for early
intervention.

Researchers at Canada's McMaster University recently announced that
they had developed a computerized test using eye-movement sensors that
aims to predict the risk of autism in children as young as 9 months.
The system, which administers five eye-tracking tests over 10 minutes,
measures the direction and fixation of a child's eyes when confronted
with computerized images, including human faces.

Yale University's Toddler Developmental Disabilities Clinic is using
similar eye-tracking technology to study patterns in gaze behavior in
children ages 3 months to 3 years. And researchers at the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Media Lab are developing
specialized software and an in-home recording device to analyze the
habits of newborns in hopes of teasing out the most subtle signs of
early autism.

More at the WSJ - including video clips.....