A new method for early detection of autism
Measuring social visual perception by tracking eye movements allows earlier detection of autism. The method achieved a sensitivity of 78% and specificity of 85.4% in children with a confirmed clinical diagnosis.Researchers from Emory University, the University of Washington and the University of California, San Francisco evaluated the effectiveness of measuring social visual perception using eye movement tracking for detecting autism compared to making an expert clinical diagnosis in young children. The results of the study are published in the journal JAMA Network.
The study included 475 children aged 16 to 30 months who were evaluated for suspected autism at six specialty clinics in the United States. The average age of the participants was 24.1 months.
Clinical diagnosis was made by specialists using standardized protocols without access to measurement information. Other staff members, unaware of clinical diagnoses, measured social visual perception from eye movements using an automated device.
Autism was identified by experts in 46.5% of the children based on clinical assessment. Assessment of social visual perception using eye movement tracking was successful in 95.2% of participants. The sensitivity of social visual perception measurement in diagnosing autism was 71% and specificity was 81%. In the subgroup of children with a clinically confirmed diagnosis of autism, sensitivity was 78% and specificity was 85.4%.
Measurement results correlated with expert clinical assessments of individual levels of social dysfunction, verbal abilities, and nonverbal cognitive abilities.
The authors believe that the new approach will allow autism to be identified even before a clinician makes a diagnosis. Research on the new method in routine clinical practice is planned.