New research seeks to find autism in children at earlier age

The MIND Institute at the University of California Davis Medical Center is conducting new research in diagnosing children with autism as early as six months old, reports the New York Times.

The study follows infants who show signs of autism, such as not making eye contact, smiling or babbling, in an effort to help parents determine if their child has the condition at six months of age. Diagnosing autism in children normally starts when they are two years old.

Children who exhibit these behaviors are enrolled in a program called Infant Start. Experts say that the program has been shown to improve I.Q., language and social skills in toddlers with autism. Furthermore, kids who enrolled at an earlier age showed the most progress throughout the study.

Researchers say that if a baby begins focusing on objects rather than faces, they lose their ability to learn the emotional cues normally taught by recognizing facial expressions.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nearly 1 in 110 children in the U.S. are diagnosed with autism every year.