The ASD Research Group is also studying early development in high risk infants - the younger siblings of children with ASD, in order to better understand what causes some infants to be more vulnerable to developing the disorder, and to identify the earliest signs of ASD to help advance diagnostic practice. Building on a decade of behavioural research, our investigators are using innovative technologies to examine how early positive and negative emotional responses and patterns of orienting attention may provide clues to which infants are at highest risk of ASD.We are also examining whether behavioural markers, including those currently under study, combined with genetic testing, could help identify children at risk of ASD even earlier. We are leading an international effort to improve prediction of ASD based on behavioural and genetic biomarkers, which could help transform early detection of the disorder.
Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee (IACC)
Autism Research Database (AFD)
