Doctors may soon be able to use a video game, supported by a motion-tracking tool, to diagnose autistic children. The tool, called the Computerized Assessment of Motor Imitation, can differentiate between children with autism and those without, with a success rate of up to 80 percent, according to Science Alert.
The game also distinguished children with autism from those with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), a diagnosis often confused with autism, with 70 percent accuracy.
The tool was tested on 183 children aged 7 to 13. Of these, 21 were autistic, 35 had ADHD, 63 had symptoms of both autism and ADHD, while 65 children were considered "normal."
In the game, children were asked to imitate the body movements of a person on the screen for one minute. At the same time, two cameras recorded their movements (one camera at the front and one at the back), and then the "computerized assessment of motor imitation" tool assessed the accuracy of the children's imitation.
The results ranged from zero, meaning there was no imitation, to a score of 1, representing perfect imitation.
The researchers found that the tool diagnosed autism with 80% accuracy, while the game distinguished children with autism from those with ADHD with 70% accuracy.
Although autism is traditionally defined by difficulties with social communication, research has shown that sensory and motor disorders play a key role in autism and may even underlie some communication problems.
Children with autism often have difficulty imitating movements and expressions, which are fundamental elements of human communication through body language.
Bahar Tunçgenç, a psychology researcher at Nottingham Trent University and a participant in the study, explains: "The computerised motor imitation assessment tool uses these sensory and motor difficulties to diagnose autism and differentiate it from ADHD."
The research team emphasized that the advantage of this tool lies in its simplicity. Video games are popular, fun for children and provide quick results, easy for doctors to interpret.
They hope that this tool can be used in clinical practices around the world.
