Research tool can detect autism at nine months of age

[img_inline align=”right” src=”http://padnws01.mcmaster.ca/images/Rutherford.jpg” caption=”Mel Rutherford, associate professor of psychology in the Department of Psychology, Neuroscience & Behaviour. File photo.”]The ability to detect autism in children as young as nine months of age has sparked immediate and widespread interest in the media.

The Early Autism Study, led by Mel Rutherford, associate professor of psychology in the Faculty of Science's Department of Psychology, Neuroscience & Behaviour, has been using eye tracker technology that measures eye direction while the babies look at faces, eyes and bouncing balls on a computer screen.

Rutherford will present her peer-reviewed research tomorrow at the 7th Annual International Meeting for Autism Research in London, England. (www.autism-insar.org)

“The advance media interest this story has generated and will continue to do so is a testament to the sort of research Mel is doing to really dig beneath the surface of autism,” says John Capone, dean of the Faculty of Science. “This research will be an early detection tool that can get parents and clinicians to devise a treatment program earlier on for the child.”

“What's important about this study is that now we can distinguish between a group of siblings with autism from a group with no autism — at nine months and 12 months,” says Rutherford. “I can do this in 10 minutes, and it is objective, meaning that the only measure is eye direction; it's not influenced by a clinician's report or by intuition. Nobody's been able to distinguish between these groups at so early an age.”

Currently, the earliest diagnostic test for autism is reliable around the age of two. Rutherford believes that the earlier the diagnosis, the better the overall prognosis.

“There is an urgent need for a quick, reliable and objective screening tool to aid in diagnosing autism much earlier than is presently possible,” she says. “Developing a tool for the early detection of autism would have profound effects on people with autism, their parents, family members, and future generations of those at risk of developing autism.”

More information on the Early Autism Study can found at www.earlyautismstudy.com.

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[img_inline align="right" src="http://padnws01.mcmaster.ca/images/Rutherford.jpg" caption="Mel Rutherford, associate professor of psychology in the Department of Psychology, Neuroscience & Behaviour. File photo."]The ability to detect autism in children as young as nine months of age has sparked immediate and widespread interest in the media. <br />
<br />
<p>The Early Autism Study, led by Mel Rutherford, associate professor of psychology in the Faculty of Science&#039;s Department of Psychology, Neuroscience & Behaviour, has been using eye tracker technology that measures eye direction while the babies look at faces, eyes and bouncing balls on a computer screen.  <br />
<br />
<p>Rutherford will present her peer-reviewed research tomorrow at the 7th Annual International Meeting for Autism Research in London, England. (<a href="http://www.autism-insar.org">www.autism-insar.org</a>) <br />
<br />
<p>"The advance media interest this story has generated and will continue to do so is a testament to the sort of research Mel is doing to really dig beneath the surface of autism," says John Capone, dean of the Faculty of Science. "This research will be an early detection tool that can get parents and clinicians to devise a treatment program earlier on for the child."<br />
<br />
<p>"What&#039;s important about this study is that now we can distinguish between a group of siblings with autism from a group with no autism -- at nine months and 12 months," says Rutherford. "I can do this in 10 minutes, and it is objective, meaning that the only measure is eye direction; it&#039;s not influenced by a clinician&#039;s report or by intuition. Nobody&#039;s been able to distinguish between these groups at so early an age."<br />
<br />
<p>Currently, the earliest diagnostic test for autism is reliable around the age of two. Rutherford believes that the earlier the diagnosis, the better the overall prognosis.<br />
<br />
<p>"There is an urgent need for a quick, reliable and objective screening tool to aid in diagnosing autism much earlier than is presently possible," she says. "Developing a tool for the early detection of autism would have profound effects on people with autism, their parents, family members, and future generations of those at risk of developing autism."<br />
<br />
<p>More information on the Early Autism Study can found at <a href="http://www.earlyautismstudy.com">www.earlyautismstudy.com</a>.<br />

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