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Autism detected in two month old babies - society sorting?

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Keyman
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06 Nov 2013, 4:01 pm

kfor.com: Autism may show up as early as first month

Research at Emory University School of Medicine claims to detect autism in babies as old as two months by measure how much time each baby was looking at the eyes of the caregiver in the video.

This could of course be automated with computers. But the important aspect would be what is the consequence of being able to sort kids that early?



Asperger96
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06 Nov 2013, 5:02 pm

better care :?:



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06 Nov 2013, 5:17 pm

I suppose they will do even earlier early intervention. I've read of kids being diagnosed pretty early in the states. In the UK I don't know any kids diagnosed before 3.



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06 Nov 2013, 5:20 pm

I can see the rationale for concern. I was diagnosed at 5, I'm not sure I would've learned as much as I did if everyone in my life already had their own explanation for my quirks. I think AS is being portrayed as a greater risk factor than in years past.


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Keyman
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06 Nov 2013, 5:42 pm

@cberg, Could you expand on how you mean that if people in your surroundings had their own explanation for your quirks?



eric76
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06 Nov 2013, 6:17 pm

From http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-24837462:

Quote:
The study followed 59 infants who had a high risk of autism because they had siblings with the disease, and 51 infants at low risk.

Dr Jones and colleague Dr Ami Klin followed them to the age of three, when the children were formally assessed for autism.

Thirteen of the children were diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders - a range of disorders that includes autism and Asperger's syndrome - 11 boys and two girls.

The researchers then went back to look at the eye-tracking data, and what they found was surprising.

"In infants with autism, eye contact is declining already in the first six months of life," said Dr Jones.

But he added this could be seen only with sophisticated technology and would not be visible to parents.

"It's not something that parents would be able to see by themselves at all. If parents have concerns they should talk to their paediatrician."



visagrunt
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06 Nov 2013, 8:38 pm

Interesting, insofar as it goes. But given that the study began with infants whose profile suggested a greater likelihood of ASD, it will take some time before we can look at anything like a more general conclusion.

The last thing we need is every new parent coming into the paedeatrician's office, proclaiming, "My baby doesn't look at us enough! We need services for infants on the autism spectrum!!"


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06 Nov 2013, 10:20 pm

visagrunt wrote:
Interesting, insofar as it goes. But given that the study began with infants whose profile suggested a greater likelihood of ASD, it will take some time before we can look at anything like a more general conclusion.

The last thing we need is every new parent coming into the paedeatrician's office, proclaiming, "My baby doesn't look at us enough! We need services for infants on the autism spectrum!!"


Amen. The baby stare test sound like very thin gruel. The only way to validate it is a longitudinal study that could take as long as 20 years.

ruveyn



Keyman
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06 Nov 2013, 11:59 pm

visagrunt wrote:
"My baby doesn't look at us enough!


Seems like a what reflex neurotypical response could look like. Don't worry however, the last idiot hasn't been born yet :D



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15 Nov 2013, 11:49 am

Early intervention is extremely important. I worked with a family whose daughter had autism. Her younger brother was 9 months at the time and showing signs of being on the spectrum. With early intervention he was able to enter kindergarten without services. He is still adorably quirky but he has a good quality of life. In contrast, his sister, has been bounced around from one sub-standard SDC to the next until finally, she was pulled out of school.


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cberg
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15 Nov 2013, 3:36 pm

Keyman wrote:
@cberg, Could you expand on how you mean that if people in your surroundings had their own explanation for your quirks?


As an aspie, by nature I'm weird. This doesn't mean my condition is the root cause of my weirdness though, I think people often forget where correlation doesn't imply causation.


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15 Nov 2013, 4:03 pm

I was told by the Adult Autism Team that children aren't diagnosed until the age of seven now. I don't know whether that's true for the whole of the UK or just my area.



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15 Nov 2013, 5:42 pm

mosswoodconnections wrote:
Early intervention is extremely important. I worked with a family whose daughter had autism. Her younger brother was 9 months at the time and showing signs of being on the spectrum.


There is no way to know that he wouldn't have been able to do this without early intervention.



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15 Nov 2013, 11:08 pm

Sometimes you just got to try?

Diagnose at an early age can be used to the benefit of kids with adapted pedagogy. But it may also be used to put them on a track of misery with with limited view education and expectations of failure. So it's not so much about the information but rather on how it is used. And who get to make the decisions.

The next step is pregnancy tests such that any fetus with asperger will simple be aborted. This will of course bite the society in the end but it may take 20-30 years at minimum to correct any such policy.