06-05-2025
The simple test that reveals whether you or your child has autism in minutes
How you or your child grasp objects could reveal if either of you have autism, a study suggests.
Scientists based the test on subtle differences they found in the way autistic people performed tasks in comparison to non-autistic people.
The test, which takes just two minutes, involves analysing finger motions during grasping, and is reported to be 85 per cent accurate.
To create the the test autistic and non-autistic people were asked to use their thumbs and index fingers, which had tracking markers attached, to grasp different blocks of varying size.
They were then asked to lift each block and replace it in the same spot, before putting their hand back in the starting position.
The researchers used machine learning to minutely study the participants' finger movements as they made these grasping motions.
Analysing the data, they found non-autistic participants adjusted their grip size more precisely depending on how big the object was.
In contrast the neuro divergent individuals took longer to complete the grasping movement compared to non-autistic individuals.
'Our models were able to classify autism with approximately 85 per cent accuracy, suggesting this approach could potentially offer simpler, scalable tools for diagnosis,' says lead author, Erez Freud of York University's Department of Psychology and the Center for Vision Research.
It is estimated that over 700,000 adults and children in the UK have been diagnosed with autism, while almost 130,000 under 18s in England were still awaiting an assessment in December 2024, NHS figures showed.
In addition to social and communication challenges, the neurodevelopmental disorder, can include motor abnormalities which often show up in early childhood. The researchers say testing for these motor movements early could lead to faster diagnoses.
'The main behaviours markers for diagnosis are focused on those with relatively late onset and the motor markers that can be captured very early in childhood may thus lower age of diagnosis,' said Professor Batsheva Hadad, from the University of Haifa and a key collaborator in the study published in the journal Autism Research.
'Timely, accessible diagnosis remains a major challenge. Our findings add to the growing body of research suggesting that subtle motor patterns may provide valuable diagnostic signals—something not yet widely leveraged in clinical practice,' professor Freud added.
Both groups had average IQs and were matched on age and intelligence.
Young adults were used instead of children to rule out any differences in the findings due to delayed development.
It is not yet known exactly what causes autism, but it sometimes runs in families. People have it from the moment they are born, although it may not be spotted until childhood and sometimes much later.
Typical signs of autism include trouble communicating, a lack of emotional intelligence, finding certain situations overwhelming and repetitive behaviours.
Autism exists on a spectrum—some people will be able to lead fully functioning lives with no additional help. Others may need full-time assistance.
