A New Study Shows the Importance of Early Diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder

A New Study Shows the Importance of Early Diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder

A new study from The Society for Research in Child Development (SRCD) documents that visible social-communication differences for infants with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) unfold by 9 months, pointing to a critical window for targeted intervention. This research was supported by the National Institute of Mental Health, the National Institute of Deafness and Communication Disorders, the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health & Human Development, the National Institute of General Medical Sciences, Office of the Vice President for Research at the University of South Carolina ASPIRE-I, the Marcus Foundation, the Joseph B. Whitehead Foundation, and the Georgia Research Alliance. The foundation for social communication is present from birth, with newborns preferring to orient to faces over non-faces and caregivers over strangers. Between 9-12 months of age, infants develop other social communication skills such as eye gaze, facial expressions, gestures, and sounds. Read More