Australia’s La Trobe University has developed an early screening tool that will detect autism in children aged between 12 and 24 months.

The new tool by many experts refers as Social Attention and Communication Surveillance (SACS). It’s two elements — SACS-Revised and SACS-Preschool.

The SACS tool is translated into eight languages and is currently utilized in the subsequent 11 countries: Bangladesh, China, Italy, Japan, Nepal, New Zealand, Poland, Singapore, Asian countries, Spain, and the UK.

Researchers who belong to Australia’s La Trobe University conducted a five-year study on around 13,500 children. Of the younger population aged between 12 and 24 months “flagged by the screening tool,” 83% were later diagnosed with autism. This study is excessively published by the medical journal called JAMA Open Network.

The SACS tool can diagnose autism about four years previous current tools. If autism is diagnosed at an early age, life outcomes are better for people with autism.

M-CHAT (the Modified Checklist for Autism in Toddlers) is the standard test used currently, which may diagnose autism between the ages of 4 and 6 years. M-CHAT has an accuracy of 6%, much not up to the SACS-Revised tool’s 83% accuracy.

Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder.

People with autism face a lot of difficulties in social communication, daily life and are characterized by restricted and repetitive behaviours.