Recent studies suggest that eye-tracking technology may help identify autism-related traits in children as young as one year old, offering a promising supplement to traditional diagnosis methods and potentially expediting early intervention efforts.
Eye-tracking technology may help spot autism-related traits far earlier than current practice, with researchers saying it could one day support assessment from around the age of one. Two studies published in JAMA suggest that patterns in how very young children look at social scenes can provide a measurable signal that complements, rather than replaces, a full clinical diagnosis.
The larger study, published in JAMA Network Open, followed 1,089 children aged 16 to 30 months, many of whom either already had an autism diagnosis or had symptoms or genetic risk factors linked to the condition. Using cameras that recorded eye movements at high speed while the children watched short videos of toddler social interactions, the team reported strong accuracy for identifying autism-related differences in social visual engagement. The paper said the method achieved an area under the curve of 0.90, while the newspaper summary of the findings described 86% accuracy against clinical diagnoses.
A second study in JAMA found similar promise, though with more modest performance. It reported sensitivity of 71.0% and specificity of 80.7% when eye-tracking was compared with expert clinical diagnosis in children aged 16 to 30 months. Researchers at Emory University, including Warren Jones and Ami Klin, said the work matters because many families still wait two years or more for a formal diagnosis, with some children not being identified until they are four or five.
The broader research base points in the same direction. A separate JAMA Network Open article examined whether a panel of eye-tracking markers could help distinguish autistic and non-autistic children in primary care, finding that combining those measures with a clinician’s initial assessment improved outcomes. Another study looked at attention to infant-directed speech, often called “motherese”, and found reduced interest in children with autism. Taken together, the studies suggest that eye-tracking may eventually become a useful screening aid, but not a stand-alone test. Diagnosis still depends on a comprehensive assessment by trained professionals.
Disclaimer: This content is for informational purposes only and is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical judgment, advice, diagnosis, or treatment.
