A new study out of Stanford University's School of Medicine finds that short home videos could be a tool in diagnosing autism in young children.

Dr. Dennis Wall, one of the researchers involved in the study, says using home videos could streamline the diagnosis process, leading to an earlier diagnosis.

Dr. Wall says by utilizing videos it helps "speed up the process." Currently, it can take up to a year before an official assessment and diagnosis are made.

In the study, each video consisted of 30 yes-or-no answers to questions about the child’s behavior. That data was then fed into eight mathematical models.

One model identified autism with an 88.9% accuracy rate, correctly labeling 94.5% of children with autism and 77.4% of children without autism.

Researchers are now repeating their study with home videos of young children in Bangladesh to see how well their models translate across cultures.

Dr. Wall hopes that their findings can "globalize" the process, providing care to the underserved earlier, ultimately helping in their development in years to come.


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