Title: Canadian Research Holds Promise for Earlier Diagnosis of Autism Using Eye Tracker Technology (Diverging Social Perceptual Development in the Autism Phenotype in the First Year of Life)

Presented by: Mel Rutherford
Date: Friday, October 24, 2008
Time: 1:30 - 3:00 p.m.
Session: Special Session NEW!

Description:

Comparisons between close relatives of those with and without autism spectrum disorders (ASD) reveal differences in cognitive profiles. The specific cognitive characteristics of close relatives of those with ASD are often called the broader autism phenotype, and include differences in social cognition as well as reasoning about intuitive physics and math. This longitudinal study measures early social perceptual development in infants in the first year of life, based on infants’ behavioral responses to faces, emotions, eye gaze, and animate motion, and compares a group of infants with a close relative with autism to a group of infants with no known autism in the family. The dependent measure for each of five tasks is eye direction, measured via an eye tracker. Results show diverging developmental trajectories in the first year of life. This suggests the possibility of developing a screening tool for early autism diagnosis. There is a pressing need for early, reliable diagnostic and screening tools for autism. Earlier diagnosis of autism is associated with an improved prognosis. This developing tool is designed to be objective fast. The data collection took just 10 minutes (on each of four visits) and was meant to be fast and easy for participants and administrators.