( Everyday Life with Autism )

Some kids with autism are non-verbal, which makes their diagnosis more difficult. A recent study found a new concept to diagnose autism. It is called the “Sniff Test”. The research showed that individuals with autism have a pattern in smelling. Whether the scent is good or bad, they sniff the same way, unlike typically developed kids.

The main advantage of this testing tool is that it can be used with babies and toddlers. And as we all know: It is never enough to emphasize the importance of early intervention. This is my mantra.

So, for non-verbal and young kids suspected to have autism, the sniff test would be a very convenient tool for diagnosis.

“Earlier evidence had indicated that people with autism have impairments in “internal action models,” the brain templates we rely on to seamlessly coordinate our senses and actions.”

The study included kids with autism with average age of 7, and the a control group (typically developed kids). In this research the sniff response was 81% accurate.

The other result of this test shows that “the increasingly aberrant sniffing was associated with increasingly severe autism.”

Moreover, the test takes 10 minutes and doesn’t require any further tasks to follow.

The sniff test sounds like a dream tool to diagnose autism, but it is not ready to be used in clinics yet.

This research gives a lot of hope to early diagnosis. It’s on the way. Stay tuned.

To find more details about the research read here.

To learn more about signs of autism read here.

nadia shanab

Source: Noam Sobel of the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel

Tags: asperger's syndrome, autism, communication, early intervention, health, parenting, research, senses, sensory, sensory integration issues, sniff test, speech, symptoms of autism