A five-minute screening test could help detect autism in babies when they are just 12-months-old, US researchers said.

Autism begins in childhood and persist throughout adulthood¹, but often isn't picked up until youngsters are older.

'The benefit of this study is children get into treatment much earlier than they would otherwise,' said study author Karen Pierce of the University of California, San Diego. 'There is extensive evidence that early therapy can have a positive impact on the developing brain.'

For the study, published in the Journal of Pediatrics, Professor Pierce and colleagues put together a network of 137 pediatricians, who systematically³ started screening all babies at their one-year check up.

As part of the screening program, parents answered a survey, rating their babies on questions such as 'When your child plays with toys, does he/she look at you to see if you are watching?' or 'Does your child smile or laugh while looking at you?'

Any baby who failed the screening was referred to university's autism centre for more testing. These children were re-tested every six months until age 3, when they were likely to show signs of autism.

Dr Lisa Gilotty from the National Institute of Mental Health, which funded the study, said: 'Those kids were getting treatment who otherwise may not have been seen for treatment until age 3 or later.'

Dr Chrystal de Freitas, a pediatrician who participated in the study, said parents who got the screening paid more attention to their child's development, and it helped prepare some for potentially bad news.

Professor Pierce said surveys of the doctors before the program showed that most had not been screening infants in any systematic² way for autism. But after the study, 96 per cent said they have continued using the screening tool.

Dr Gilotty said the screening test still needs to be confirmed through other studies, but it proves that it is possible to systematically screen babies for autism in a way that does not put too much of a burden on pediatricians.

美国研究人员称，一项5分钟的扫描检查就能判断出一个十二个月大的婴儿是否患有孤独症。

孤独症始于儿童时期，并贯穿人的一生，但往往等孩子长到一定年龄才会显现出来。

加利福尼亚大学圣地亚哥分校的卡伦•皮尔斯教授是该种扫描检查的发起人。她说：“我们发起这项研究的初衷就是及早发现并治疗孤独症儿童。我们有充分的证据证明及早的治疗对孩子的成长发育有积极的作用。”

这篇刊登在医学杂志《儿科学》上的文章凝聚了皮尔斯教授和她同事的心血。她们组织了137名儿科大夫，在一年的时间里对所有的婴儿进行系统的筛检测验。

作为这项测验的一部分，家长们也要回答一些问题来帮助评估自己的孩子，例如：孩子什么时候开始喜欢玩玩具？他在玩的时候会不会在意你有没有注意他？孩子在看你的时候会笑吗？

那些没能通过测验的儿童会在加利福尼亚大学的孤独症研究中心接受进一步检查，而且每隔六个月就会复查一次，直到3岁为止——那个时候他们患没患孤独症就会表现得比较明显了。

美国国家心理卫生研究所的丽莎•吉洛迪博士称：“通过测试，我们会及早对有患孤独症苗头的孩子进行治疗，否则他们直到三岁或者更晚才显现出来。”

作为一名儿科医生，克里斯托•德•弗里塔斯博士也参与了这项测试。她说：“测试结果会让家长们更加关注孩子的成长，即使将来孩子出现问题，他们也会有心理准备。”

皮尔斯教授称测试前她们对这些医生进行了一项问卷调查，发现他们中绝大多数人都没有系统地研究过孤独症。而测试结束后，96%的人表示以后会继续采用这种方法来治疗儿童。

吉洛迪博士称测试结果还需要其它的试验进行佐证，但是实验证明，在不增加儿科医生太多负担的前提下，对幼儿进行系统性孤独症检查是可能的。