A Baby’s Gaze May Signal Autism, Study Finds

So reports Pam Belluck in the NYTimes:

Scientists are reporting the earliest behavioral sign to date that a child is likely to develop autism: when and how long a baby looks at other people’s eyes.

In a study published Wednesday, researchers using eye-tracking technology found that 3-year-olds diagnosed with autism looked less at people’s eyes when they were babies than children who did not develop autism.

But contrary to what the researchers expected, the difference was not apparent at birth. It emerged when babies were two to six months old, and autism experts said that may suggest a window during which the progression toward autism can be halted or slowed.

Original research article in Nature: