A new discovery at Yale University may point the way to diagnosis of autism at birth. The announcement of the discovery in Medical News Today states that unusual folds, called trophoblast inclusions, were present in placentas of children who developed autistic symptoms -- and not in the placentas of children who developed typically.

In my own interview with Dr. Harvey Kliman, the placental expert who made the discovery, I asked whether there was a takeaway message for parents. His response -- based on the assumption that his findings will be validated by future research -- was as follows: "If your child is born and his placenta has this abnormality, the check engine light is on. I would suggest as early as you can see an autism expert, see if you can see anything. If there are any hints, do early intervention to help the brains form as well as they can. The earlier we do that the better."

Dr. Kliman mentioned that several couples with a child on the autism spectrum have already asked him to examine their next child's placenta for signs of abnormality.