Abnormal movement patterns are seen in children who develop Asperger’s syndrome, or autism, a research team reports.

Identifying these anomalies in infancy may help doctors to diagnose Asperger’s syndrome before the appearance of abnormal social skills, which are currently used to diagnose autism-like disorders, they suggest.

Dr. Osnat Teitelbaum and colleagues at the University of Florida in Gainesville analyzed movement patterns in videos of 16 infants who were later diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome. They describe their findings in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Eight infants exhibited “Moebius mouth,” which is the result of congenital facial weakness. It is characterized a triangular shaped mouth, with a protruding, tented upper lip and a flat lower lip, Teitelbaum told Reuters Health.

Abnormalities were also observed in other movements. These included abnormal crawling patterns, inability to sit independently as late as 10 months of age, and falling while walking.

No single aberrant movement was present in all subjects, and infants were unlikely to exhibit all the abnormalities, Teitelbaum noted. However, pediatricians should be alert to the delayed appearance of milestones in motor development, especially if there is autism in the family or if parents are concerned that their child is not developing properly.

The researchers have developed a “tilting test” that they recommend parents and doctors use to evaluate the “head verticalization response” of infants, beginning at about 6 months of age.

“The test is very simple to do,” co-author Dr. Philip Teitelbaum explained. “The baby is held vertically, then slowly tilted sideways to about 45 degrees, then slowly brought back to vertical, then tilted to the opposite side.”

In normal development, he said, the head will maintain a vertical position. A child with an autistic disorder will often fail to keep his head vertical, instead holding the head in line with the rest of the body.

SOURCE: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA Early Edition, July 26, 2004.