Early Detection of Autism in One-Year-Old Children Now Possible, Studies Claim

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder that may be caused by genetic factors and other causes that are not yet known. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said that ASD symptoms could show between 12 to 24 months or later and could last throughout the person's lifetime, but it may improve over time.

Early detection of autism allows for early therapeutic intervention to improve their symptoms. Now, two new research studies show that some infants develop ASD symptoms within their first 12 months of life when they stop gaining new skills and lose previous skills.

Early Detection of Autism in One-Year-Old Children is Possible, Studies Claim Unsplash/Tomáš Petz @pecmen

Autism Symptoms During the First 15 Months of Life

In the first study, titled "A Retrospective Study of Prodromal Variables Associated With Autism Among a Global Group of Infants During Their First Fifteen Months of Life," published in the International Journal of Pediatrics & Neonatal Care last December 2021, researchers focused on the early detection of autism in infants as seen on video recordings.

EurekAlert! reported that researchers at Mifne Center for Early Intervention in the Treatment of Autismcarried out the first study for ten years and examined which stage of infancy symptoms would first appear. They recruited infants from Israel, the United States, and Europe, all diagnosed with autism between two to three years old.

Parents were asked to record a video of their infants starting from birth to their first year of life. Researchers who had never met the infants watched the recorded videos and identified the behaviors that deviated from the typical development.

The team found that over 89% of the symptoms are already observable from four to six months old, although most parents do not recognize them. Instead, they would usually only think that infants would eventually work themselves out later. These symptoms include lack of eye contact, lack of response to the voice or presence of their parents, excessive passivity or activity, delay in motor skills, refusing to eat, aversion to touch, and faster growth of head circumference compared to other infants.

They rated these symptoms based on the frequency of such behaviors and the simultaneous appearance of other signs that further provide evidence of the diagnosis.

Early Therapeutic Interventions

In the second study, titled "A Comparative Study of Infants and Toddlers Treated with the Mifne Approach Intervention for Autism Spectrum Disorder," published in the same journal by similar researchers, the team applied early therapeutic interventions in two different stages of life on infants.

As EurekAlert! reported, the study involved two groups of infants treated at Mifne Center in which the first group was treated in their third year of life, while the second group was treated during their second year of life. The two groups underwent interventions based on the bio-psychosocial approach and included parents and nuclear family members in the intervention.

The therapy addressed the cognitive, emotional, motor, sensory, and physical aspects of the infants' development and focused on developing attachment and improving the abilities of infants. This allowed them to measure the behavior of infants into four clusters, namely emotional involvement, play, communication, and functioning.

They found that both groups displayed significant progress in all components, although those who started treatment at a younger age showed distinct statistical improvement compared to those who started at an older age. More so, the study demonstrated the ability of infants to improve in a short time due to their neuronal growth in the brain that formed new connections of neurons responsible for sensory, motor, emotional, and cognitive function.

In the end, the two studies highlight the importance of early intervention not only with the infants but also with the parents and their families to help alleviate symptoms and advance their children's development.