FRIDAY, Nov. 30, 2012 (HealthDay News) — The sounds infants make
when they cry could offer insight into the likelihood that
they'll later be diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders, a
tiny and preliminary study suggests.  However, it's too early to
know if there actually is a connection between cries and autism
or why one would exist in the first place. Even if there is a
link, the difference between the crying of babies who are
developing normally and those with autism may be too subtle for
people to notice without audio analysis by a computer.  There's
also the question of what could be done, if anything, to help
babies at high risk of autism. Now, physicians are unable to
diagnose autism disorders until about the age of 18 months.
Still, the analysis of the cries of babies "might allow us to
target the right babies to monitor or intervene with," said
study lead author Stephen Sheinkopf, an assistant professor of
psychiatry and human behavior at Brown Medical School in
Providence, R.I.  It's estimated tha