Early Autism Detection: Speech Disrupts Facial Attention in 6-Month-Old Infants Who Later Develop Autism

5th February, 2014

7 February 2014, Autism, News, Newsletter

[Medical News Today]

From birth, infants naturally show a preference for human contact and interaction, including faces and voices. These basic predispositions to social stimuli are altered in individuals diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). One of the best methods to examine autism in very young infants is the use of eye-tracking. This technology uses advanced video monitoring and special software that tracks and ‘maps’ exactly where the eyes were focused and for how long.
A new study published in Biological Psychiatry this week, from researchers at the Yale University School of Medicine, now reports that 6-month-old infants later diagnosed with autism divert their gaze from facial features when that face is speaking.

Dr. Frederick Shic and his colleagues used this method to examine how 6-month-old infants looked at videos of still, smiling, and speaking faces. The infants were later assessed at 3 years of age and divided into groups based on based on their diagnosis of ASD, other developmental delays, or typical development.
Infants who later developed ASD not only looked at all faces less than other infants, but also, when shown a face that was speaking, looked away from key facial features such as the eyes and mouth.
Read the Rest of this Article on Medical News Today

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