Study uses checklist to screen for early autism warning signs

A SIMPLE checklist that parents fill out in the waiting room may help doctors to some day screen for warning signs of autism as early as a baby’s first birthday.

San Diego paediatricians tested the tool with more than 10,000 babies at their one-year checkups, looking for such things as how the children babble, gesture and interact with others.

The research is a first step in the quest for earlier autism screening. It is not ready for routine use, as more work is needed to verify its accuracy. But it also may prove valuable in finding more at-risk babies to study what causes the developmental disorder.