Despite the fact that childhood autism diagnoses have more than doubled in the past 20 years, the condition can be difficult to spot. It can take years to manifest in such a way that it is noticeable, and even once it becomes so, it can still look wildly different — from children who can’t speak and who stim (using repetitive motor movements or speech) to those who might just have trouble figuring out social cues. I know because it was not until my daughter Dahlia was 4 years old that I came to firmly believe there was something clinically “wrong” with her. Now a new test is being developed that can help clinicians spot autism in children earlier than ever. It is the brainchild of researchers from a new startup called LinusBio, who say the new technology can find markers of risk in a hair sample long before symptoms appear.
While it’s still in the early stages and will need federal approval, as a scientist, I am tremendously excited by this news. Any breakthroughs in the science of autism are welcome after decades of stumbling in the dark. Furthermore, as a psychologist myself, I have always believed that more and better data leads to better treatment approaches and outcomes.
