Research has shown that autism may be detectable in the brain long before symptoms start to appear.

Usually, ASD is detected and diagnosed in children at the age of 2 or even later. A study published in the journal Nature, has showed that in fact the origins of ASD are earlier than that, in the first year of life. These findings could lead to earlier tests for ASD and even therapies to be started at an earlier age where the brain is even more plastic.

The study looked at 148 children, including those at high risk of ASD due to having an older sibling with the disorder. All children received brain scans at 6, 12, and 24 months old.

The study found differences in parts of the brain responsible for complex functions, such as language, in children who later were diagnosed with ASD. These findings could open new avenues on how autism is diagnosed and treated. Giving children brain scans, particularly those children in high-risk families, could lead to earlier diagnosis. This could help parents become better equipped to learn ways through which they can intervene and interact with their children at an earlier age, leading to potentially increased positive results later in life for the children with ASD.

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-38955872