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SALT LAKE CITY — A new study could help lead doctors to diagnosing autism in boys as young as 1 year old. This could have a big impact on the different treatments for children with autism.
Karrson Heumann, 14, is a lot like other kids his age. He knows his way around a computer, but maybe a little more than others.
"Actually my whole summer after the seventh grade I worked on this for the whole summer," he said.
Karrson has Asperger's syndrome, which is on the autism spectrum.
"People with autism, a lot of times they'll just learn a little differently in different subjects," said researcher Dr. Tiziano Pramparo.
Doctors at the University of California San Diego are trying to help families like Karrson's by identifying the disease earlier. A recent study of more than 200 toddlers found each had common genetic fingerprints.
"So the idea is, let's see if the blood holds some information that can be leveraged to develop a signature of autism," Pramparo said.
Researchers say that information, the genetic fingerprints, was found in boys with autism as young as 12 months old. Autism is four times more common in boys. And right now the average age of diagnosing autism is between 4 and 5 years old.
So the idea is, let's see if the blood holds some information that can be leveraged to develop a signature of autism.
–Dr. Tiziano Pramparo
"Early diagnosis means you get the social skills training and are able to walk your child through maybe what the expectations are coming up," said Karsson's mother, Karen Heumann.
Researchers say their results should be viewed cautiously, and there is still need for larger studies that may produce the same findings.
One in 68 children in the United States has autism. The rate is higher in Utah at one in 54.
