Task4  Note-taking

        Listen to a passage “A New Test to Predict Autism”” twice. While listening, you are to give an answer as short as possible to each of the questions below.

1. What signs do autistic children experience? 

 Delays in the development of socialand communication skills._

2. How do doctors identify autism disorders currently?

By observing behaviors.

3. What do researchers use in the test to look for abnormalities in the brain?

An MRI machine.

4. Which areas ofthe brain did the researchers look in the test?

Two areas that control language andsocial behavior.

5. How accurately were the tests able to predict which of the people had been found to have autism?

_With 94 percent accuracy.

A New Test to Predict Autism

Autistic children experience delays in the development of social andcommunication skills. They may also show limited interests and repeat thesame actions over and over.

Autism generally appears by the age of three. It is part of a larger group ofdisorders, often called autism spectrum disorders. Others include Aspergerssyndrome and pervasive developmental disorder.  

Doctors currently identify autism disorders by observing behavior. Now,researchers think they have found a biological test for autism.

The test uses an MRI or magnetic resonance imaging machine to look forabnomalities in the brain. Other studies have not shown major structuraldifferences between the brains of autistic people and those without autism.

The rsercherse loked at the concecions in two areas of the brain thatcontrol language and social behavior. They used a technique called diffusiontensor imaging. This way they could observe microscopic fibers to see how wellthe brain circuitry was organized. The pictures showed a clear differencebetween the people with autism and those without.

The researchers say the tests wereable to predict with 94 percent accuracy which of the people had been found tohave autism. The researvhers repeated their study with new participants and gotequally strong results.