A new study is set to be launched tomorrow to study the developmental disorder, Autism.
The new British Autism Study of Infant Siblings (Basis) will study 200 infants with autistic older siblings to see if any patterns emerge and whether they will also develop the condition.
The goal is to identify criteria that can be used to assess very young children’s risk of autism long before its symptoms become obvious. This information can then be used to screen infants so that interventions that could reduce the impact of the condition can begin at a much earlier stage in their development.
At this time, autism is generally diagnosed in the third year of life, but it is thought that much of the altered brain development that influences the condition begins much earlier. While the chances of developing an autistic spectrum disorder are about one in 100. Children with autistic older siblings are up to 10 times more likely to be affected.
In the study, which is being managed by the Babylab at Birkbeck, University of London, up to 200 families affected by autism will be recruited so that infants can be studied at regular intervals of development. Using a custom-designed “hairnet” that monitors electrical activity, the behavior of these children at 6, 12 and 18 months will be monitored and the results collated with the five other UK center’s involved.
Professor Mark Johnson, of the Birkbeck Babylab, who is leading the project said, “In the longer term, the aim is to develop possible interventions that might reduce the number of susceptible babies that go on to develop autism.
“The difficulty at the moment is that by the time we are able to confirm a diagnosis of autism, the condition has reached a stage where it is difficult to reverse the symptoms. This study will not only give us early warning signs: it will also tell us a great deal about why autism develops in the way that it does.
“That kind of information will be invaluable in developing therapies to arrest and perhaps even reverse the distressing patterns of atypical behavior which can blight the lives of families with children with autism.”
Educational program’s aimed at teaching parents how to interact with autistic children, are being trialed by a team at Manchester University.
The project is being launched ahead of a major international conference on autism research, which opens in London on Thursday and will be chaired by Professor Charman.
Professor Johnson said that early diagnostic tests and interventions remain several years away. “This is going to be a slow, exhaustive and painstaking process,” he said. “The distinctive differences in babies who may be at risk are likely to be subtle and very difficult to identify by standard behavioral observation. We wouldn’t expect the program to bear fruit till we have several year’s worth of information on our database.”