Baby talk and autism: the correlation
Il baby talk, i.e. the way to “dialogue” with the children, could help to diagnose autism before symptoms appear. A study – reported by the Daily Telegraph – examined the responses to the use of a certain type of language by parents in playful, emotional and exaggerated tones, to capture a child’s attention. Eye tracking tests showed that children who didn’t respond to the “motherese” they had weaker social and language skills. Professor Karen Pierce, of the California University of San Diego, who co-authored the research, said: “We know that the sooner we can address autism, the more effective it is likely to be.”
“The majority of children does not receive a diagnosis autism formal up to three or four years. There is a real need for easy and effective tools that can be used on young children. Eye tracking is a great starting point,” explained the researcher. The study was published in JAMA Network Open journal and opens up the possibility of early diagnosis.
Tests to diagnose autism early
In the studio published in JAMA Network Open journal 653 children aged between one and two years were examined and were exposed to two one-minute videos with a woman speaking in “motherese”. Their eyes followed closely what was happening, but not all the children’s. Participants without ASD (autism spectrum disorder) showed consistently high interest in the video of the woman talking, spending 80% of their time watching it. The second video, which showed a busy highway, abstract shapes and numbers, was ignored by most children.
Children with autism spectrum disorders, instead, they focused 100% on random images. The little ones also showed lower scores in the subsequent ones language and social skills tests. The lesser attention to the “motherese” is not clear whether it is the cause of the reduced sociability or just a symptom: everything is still to be established. According to the researchers, it could be an indicator of autism. Prof Pierce said: “The fact that we can reliably identify children with autism using such a simple and quick eye tracking test is truly remarkable. In the future we hope to use a child’s attention for the “motherese” as a clue to which treatments might benefit most and as a tool to measure how well those treatments are working.”
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