Autism and ADHD can be diagnosed in babies through ‘Intelligent Onesies’

Scientists may soon be using “smarts” to identify autism, ADHD and other neurodivergent conditions in children by analyzing their movements.

In an ongoing study, researchers from the University of Sussex in England are using clothing equipped with motion sensors along with video recordings to track the movements of infants from birth to 18 months of age.

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By comparing specific movements such as curling, sitting and crawling with children’s social and communication skills during the first 18 months of development, researchers hope to identify key motor behaviors that predict symptoms of neurodivergent conditions.

Gillian Forrester, lead author and professor of comparative cognition at the University of Sussex, said Newsweek that the ultimate goal of the study is to determine which features of early movements might be related to a later diagnosis of autism.

“This could lead to much earlier screening compared to our current diagnostic procedures. Earlier screening may in turn lead to earlier and new interventions,” she said.

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“I am extremely excited about this new research because it allows us to better understand how our body movement in the first days of life affects our subsequent social and communication development.”

Aptly named Child Growth The aim of the study is to show how repetitive and less varied movements in newborns are associated with conditions such as autism and ADHD, while more complex and varied movements are associated with typical cognitive development.

“It is widely known that from the earliest days of life, the way we move helps prepare our brains and bodies to navigate a complex physical and social world. However, the direct links between a child’s early movements and their social abilities later in life are not well understood. ” Forrester said in a statement.

“By collecting data on children’s earliest movements, we hope to give doctors, practitioners and parents the tools they need to identify early markers of neurodivergence in infants. We hope this research will lead to earlier screening, diagnosis and interventions during infancy.” to support children and their families.”

The research will be on display at this year’s Royal Society Summer Science Exhibition, where participants can play an interactive ‘Baby Boogie’ game and test their own motor skills against those of a newborn.

The game demonstrates the difficulty of imitating the complex and variable movements associated with healthy cognitive development.

“The way we solve problems with our hands has a movement pattern similar to how we put words together to form meaningful speech. But we often study ourselves in isolation from the rest of the animal kingdom,” Forrester said.

“Our research examines how we became (and have become) the upright, walking, talking and tool-using apes that we are today – through evolution and development, creating a bridge between us and the natural world.”

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