Researchers Study if Link Exists Between Baby Movement Patterns and Neurodiversity

While parents love to coo and awe over their infant's every wiggle, scientists say watching the pattern of how babies move "could be a potential marker for neurodiverse conditions like autism ."

At the UK 's University of Sussex, researchers believe the movement of babies could be more than a reflexive way to strengthen their muscles.

The jerks and fits could be key in early detection for children on the autism spectrum.

“The Baby Grow Project is very novel in its approach to looking at motor action from birth, but also looking at it unfolding over time,"Dr. Gilly Forrester of the University of Sussex said. "So, rather than taking snapshots at six months or 12 months, we're looking at it every week to see how it's unfolding, how it's changing in our infants who are at high risk and low risk of autism."

They are measuring not only the limb movements, but also the direction little arms and legs move in, as well as how fast and how far the limbs move.

“This kind of research is really the way forward for us to determine children who might be at risk of autism earlier than we currently do, and I think it's our best hope of also starting to think about the development of motor interventions earlier, so that we're not waiting until these children actually develop social and communication deficits before we start treating them,” Forrester added.

Early detection and intervention can be paramount to helping children with autism.

“We're using computer vision and AI technology to see patterns that our eyes can't see,” Forrester said. “These would be targeting things like the variability and the complexity of the infant's movements, where we think that children might be at risk, we're hoping to be able to indicate that to parents much earlier on so that they can receive support and treatment within their infant years, rather than waiting until the toddler years and beyond."

Infancy is a stage where children rapidly develop. By studying this crucial time, scientists may be able to determine how the rest of their lives could look.

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