Babies who don't recognise their name may be autistic

They claim the simple test could pick up babies who need help at an earlier age, which will improve their prospects.

As many as half of parents of children with autism have concerns before the child's first birthday, but often they are not taken seriously.

The disorder is not usually diagnosed until the ages of three or four, say US researchers in a new report in the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine.

But the "name check" provides highly consistent results that can distinguish between children with autism and those with developmental delays, they claim.

A study of 150 children involved a researcher standing behind each indvidual child and calling their name in a clear voice.

If a child did not respond after three seconds, two more attempts would be made.

At the age of one year, 100 per cent of children regarded as not "at risk" passed the test.

But three-quarters of those who did not respond to their name and were deemed at risk because of a family history of autism went on to have developmental problems.

Dr Aparna Nadig, of the University of California Davis, Sacramento, who led the research team, said "Earlier identfication of autism offers the possibility of early intervention, which holds the promise for improving outcomes in children with autism."

Autism is an umbrella term for a range of developmental disorders that have a lifelong effect on someone's ability to interact socially and communicate.

There are related problems, known as autism spectrum disorders (ASDs), which include Asperger's syndrome, which also result in special teaching needs.

A study last year by British researchers found the true scale of childhood autism is far higher than previously thought - affecting more than one in 100 children.

But the figure could be the tip of the iceberg as it does not include a rising number of hyperactivity and behavioural problems such as ADHD.

Better awareness is partly responsible, but some experts claim the rise is linked with environmental factors ranging from vaccines to pesticides affecting children with a genetic predisposition to autism.

In the latest study researchers compared infants whose older siblings had autism - which put them at higher risk of developing it - with control infants not at high risk.

Altogether, 101 at-risk infants and 46 control infants were tested at 12 months.

All the control group infants responded to the first or second name call at the age of one year, while 86 per cent in the at-risk group did.

For the next two years, researchers followed up 46 at-risk infants and 25 control children. Three out of four of those who did not respond to their name at the age of one were identified as having developmental problems a year later. A total of 89 per cent of infants who did not have autism and 94 per cent of those without developmental problems at two years responded to their name on the first two calls at one year. Of the children later diagnosed with autism, half failed the test at one year, and of those with any kind of developmental delay, 39 per cent failed the test.

The report concludes the test is easy to administer, score and takes few resources.

'If a child fails to orient to name, particularly reliably over time, this child has a high likelihood of some type of developmental abnormality and should be referred for more frequent screening' it says.

Judith Gould, Director of Diagnostic Unit at the National Autistic Society (NAS), said: "The NAS welcomes research that can aid the identification of autism as early as possible. There is a great deal of evidence that early intervention can benefit the child's development.

"Many parents of children with autism struggle to get an early diagnosis. It is important that health professionals listen to their concerns."

But she urged parents not to worry if their child "fails" the name test at home.

She said "It is important to stress that this research is not conclusive and this may not be an obvious indicator for all children with autism - just because a baby does not respond to their name does not necessarily mean that he or she has autism. "The diagnostic assessments for autism are thorough and wide-ranging, taking into account a variety of other factors.

"If parents are concerned about their child's development, they should seek advice from their GP."

Richard Mills, honorary secretary of Research Autism charity, said "We should emphasise that a failure to respond to name is just one of the alerting signs for autism and there may be many other explanations.

"In such cases a thorough examination of the child will be needed to determine the causes of such behaviour and we would urge any parent concerned about their child to contact their GP or Health Visitor."