Researchers at the University of California Davis have reported on a new study for very early prediction for children to later be diagnosed with autism. The researchers studied young children 12-18 months old. They called out the child’s name to see if the child responded. In 70% of the cases where the child did not respond, later testing revealed that the child had autism. This study is only one such study and there could other factors to explain these findings. Given the simplicity of the test, however, parents and their doctors could use this diagnostic to gather data which could lead to very early intervention to treat children with autism in the hopes of better long-terms outcomes.