Children with autism have distinctfacial characteristics compared with non-autistic children, according to a team of scientists.
The team, led by Professor Kristina Aldridge, found children with autism:
Have a broader face, including wider eyes;
Have a shorter middle region of the face, including the cheeks and nose;
Have a wider mouth and philtrum - the area between the nose and lips
The team analysed 64 boys with autism and 41 typically developing boys aged eight to 12-years-old, using a camera system that captures a 3-D image of each child's head.
They then mapped 17 points on the face, such as the corner of the eye and the divot in the upper lip beneath the nose.
When they calculated the overall geometry of the face using these points, and compared children with autism and those without, they found statistically significant differences in face shape.
Professor Aldridge said the study also found there were two sub groups within the group of autistic children. She said there were further distinctfacial traits in children who had more severe behaviour and language problems compared to those with milder symptoms.
The scientists hope that by identifying these subgroups will reveal why autism covers such a wide range of severity of the condition.
据英国《每日邮报》10月21日报道，一个科学家小组称自闭症儿童和非自闭症儿童相比有明显的面部特征。
由克里斯蒂娜-奥尔德里奇教授带领的研究小组发现自闭症儿童有以下特点：
脸宽，眼睛长；
脸中段的区域包括脸颊和鼻子在内很短；
嘴巴很大、人中--即鼻子与嘴唇之间的区域很长。
该研究小组分析了64名患有自闭症的男孩以及41名8岁到12岁之间成长特征较为明显的男孩， 并用照相机为每一个男孩的头部拍摄了三维影像。
之后他们在男孩脸上绘制出了17个点。例如眼角和上唇与鼻子之间的区域。
当利用这些点计算出面部的几何数值并比较了自闭症儿童和非自闭症儿童后，他们发现了脸型在统计学上的显著差异。
奥尔德里奇教授说研究还发现在自闭症儿童小组下还存有两个子分组。与病情较轻者相比，行为和语言障碍更为严重者的面部特征更为明显。
科学家们希望通过识别这些子分组能揭示出自闭症严重程度覆盖如此之广的原因。
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