Scientists have developed a video game that can spot if a child has autism with 80 per cent accuracy.
Called Computerized Assessment of Motor Imitation (CAMI), the game asks children to mimic the dance-like movements of a character on a screen for one minute.
It works because people with autism often struggle to copy or mimic movements of others.
The researchers, from Nottingham Trent University and Kennedy Krieger Institute in the US, also found CAMI was able to differentiate between autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), with 70 per cent accuracy.
They said this was important as it is common for children to have both conditions — and it can be challenging for experts to tell the symptoms apart.
Dr Bahar Tunçgenç, an expert in social development at Nottingham, said while autism was traditionally associated with communication problems, CAMI taps into other, lesser-known signs.
‘We have growing knowledge that autistic people have sensory-motor difficulties, like motor imitation, which may have knock-on effects on how they develop social interactions and communication skills in childhood,’ she said.
‘CAMI taps into these sensory-motor difficulties, showing that they are not shared with children with ADHD.’
Called Computerized Assessment of Motor Imitation (CAMI), the game asks children to mimic the dance like movements of a character on the screen for one minute (stock image)
She added CAMI is so exciting due to its simplicity compared to traditional diagnostic measures.
‘Video games are already so popular. It’s fun for kids and delivers fast results that are easy to interpret for clinicians,’ she said.
‘My hope is for CAMI to eventually be used in clinical practices everywhere.’
Dr Stewart Mostofsky, a paediatric neurologist at Kennedy and co-author of the study, also said CAMI could represent a massive step-forward in autism diagnosis.
‘This tool has the potential to transform autism diagnosis worldwide’ he said.
‘By identifying autism as precisely as possible, we can connect children to interventions that improve their quality of life and long-term outcomes.
‘We want to see CAMI used widely in clinics to support diagnosis and treatment provisions as an alternative that is quick, low-cost and requires minimal set-up.’
The study itself involved just over 180 children aged between seven and 13.
This chart shows the percentage increase in incidence of autism diagnosis from 1998 to 2018. UK researchers found autism diagnoses had risen by an ‘exponential’ 787% over 20 years. They said the rise could be due to increased recognition of the condition among experts particularly in diagnosing autism among girls and adults, but added an increase in cases of autism itself cannot be ruled out
Of these, 21 had autism, 35 had ADHD, 63 had both conditions and 65 had neither and acted as the control group.
Children took part in the CAMI video game for one minute and were each scored on their ability to follow the avatar’s movements.
Those with autism were found to be have consistently poorer scores compared to children without the disorder.
The research comes as data shows the majority of children with suspected autism are being forced to wait too long for a diagnosis.
The latest NHS figures, for September last year, showed that 44,775 children had been waiting more than three months for an autism assessment in England, about 85 per cent of the total.
However, waiting times in some parts of the UK reach more than four years.
Health service guidance states no-one should wait longer than this length of time for such an assessment.
There has been a so-called ‘explosion’ in autism across the UK in recent years.
NHS data for England shows tens of thousands of children with suspected autism have been waiting at three months or more for an assessment to confirm the diagnosis (stock image)
Some experts have repeatedly blamed this rise in prevalence on growing awareness of the disorder.
This has led to a ‘backlog’ of cases, particularly among women and girls who were less likely to be diagnosed in the past.
Some experts have raised concern about the ‘wild-west’ of autism screening in England, which means over-diagnosis could also be playing a part.
Last year a study revealed adults referred to some autism assessment facilities have an 85 per cent chance of being told they are on the spectrum.
Yet the figure can be as low as 35 per cent in other places, researchers at University College London found.
Autism is a spectrum disorder which affects how people communicate and interact.
According to the World Health Organisation, about one in 100 children across the globe has the condition.
However, according to a 2021 Newcastle University study, around one in 57 children in the UK is autistic.
And again in 2021, experts found autism diagnoses in England had soared by an ‘exponential’ 787 per cent in 20 years.
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
