r/science • u/mvea Professor | Medicine • Jan 30 '25

Neuroscience A low-cost tool accurately distinguishes neurotypical children from children with autism just by watching them copy the dance moves of an on-screen avatar for a minute. It can even tell autism from ADHD, conditions that commonly overlap.

https://newatlas.com/adhd-autism/autism-motion-detection-diagnosis/
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u/K3u21 Jan 30 '25

New terms to me: Would that mean better imitation puts them in the ADHD and ASD diagnosis, or would worse imitation be the diagnosis?

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u/Nauin Jan 30 '25

A lot of autistic people have what's called proprioceptive dysfunction. Which means we don't have a strong sense of awareness for how our bodies are positioned and move compared to those who don't have this issue. It's one of the many factors lending a hand in poor motor function and coordination which is also common with autism.

Having the lived experience of these disorders I went from skeptical to, "ohhhh, yep that could work," as soon as I read "copy dance moves," in the headline.

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u/LoreChano Jan 30 '25

Interesting because I've known a man who was clearly autistic but he made absolutely amazing wood carving art, things that clearly required higher than average motor skills. Maybe different kinds of autism can lead to that?

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u/Charlies_Dead_Bird Jan 30 '25 edited Jan 30 '25

I have autism. I am a really good guitar player. But I drop things constantly. Theres a joke with me and all my friends that I am not allowed to hold jars because I have dropped them so much. I pretty much don't touch glass stuff and we use plastic plates at home. I cannot dance. I once had to go do the emergency room because I stabbed myself with a slap chop trying to take the cover off the bottom. I have a huge scar in my hand now. As a kid I couldn't ride a bike until I was 14 and I broke a lot of bones and hurt my hands so much trying to skateboard and do sports to the point where my parents just kept the little finger thing they give you and put it on which ever new finger I hurt instead of wasting money going to the hospital. But I played paganini on guitar when I was like 13.

Oh and I have really bad vision problems as I was born blind. I can see now after a lot of stuff but that plus my horrible coordination means I cannot drive a car. The DMV will give me a license if I want but everyone in my life does not trust me to drive so I don't. I also my whole life had people comment on an notice the way I walk. My dads friends would have them tell him "I saw your son at the beach today. I could tell it was him by the way he walked" So I even walk in a way that makes me specifically recognizable to people from across a beach.