IN PHOTOS Northern lights dance across the night sky in southern Ont.
From London, to Mildmay, Collingwood and St. Thomas, here are some highlights of Friday night and Saturday morning's northern lights display.
Australian researchers say a new form of therapy for babies showing early signs of autism can reduce the likelihood of a diagnosis by two-thirds.
The therapy, known as iBASIS–Video Interaction to Promote Positive Parenting (iBASIS-VIPP), involves videotaping everyday interactions between the parents and their baby who is between the age of nine and 14 months.
The family then participates in 10 sessions with a trained therapist over a five-month period, who provides feedback to the parents based on the content of the videos and helps guide parents to build social engagement and communication with their baby.
"What this therapy does is help parents understand all the unique ways that their babies are communicating with them with their body language, with their facial expressions, with vocal expressions that aren't necessarily words," said lead researcher Andrew Whitehouse in an interview with CTV News.
Whitehouse, who is a professor of autism research at the University of Western Australia, says the therapy is "quite different" from existing interventions, which generally aim to make the children display more typical behaviours.
"This is quite different. This therapy looks to understand and nurture the unique differences of babies, and support them," said Whitehouse.
While autism diagnoses typically happen at the age of three, signs of autism can start as early as six months of age. These signs include poor eye contact, lack of imitation and less smiling.
"When you see a whole collection of these behaviours together, we start to say, 'Maybe this baby's developing a bit differently,'" Whitehouse said.
Whitehouse and his colleagues published their findings in the journal JAMA Pediatrics on Monday. The study involved a cohort of 171 infants aged nine to 14 months and their families. The researchers identified 103 babies who were starting to show early signs of autism.
In a randomized trial, half of the babies showing early autism signs were assigned to receive the new iBASIS-VIPP therapy while the other half only received the usual care. The researchers followed up with the children until they were three years of age.
Only seven per cent of the infants receiving the iBASIS-VIPP therapy were diagnosed with autism, compared to 21 per cent of children who received standard care. Babies receiving iBASIS-VIPP were also found to have reduced signs of autism.
Whitehouse called it an "exciting finding."
"It was one of those moments where you sort of push your chair away from the computer and start shaking," he said. "We have long thought that if we can support early development from the very earliest moments of life, we can change lifelong trajectories."
Australian mom Alianna Celisano and her 11-month-old daughter Angelina were one of the families involved in the study. Celisano had noticed that her daughter was avoiding eye contact, an early sign of potential autism. Angelina also has a sibling on the autism spectrum, which is another risk factor for autism.
"It really enriched our entire bond, actually. The entire experience was phenomenal, one I'll take with me for life," Celisano told CTV News.
"It really helped me tune in very, very closely with her and be able to recognize even the tiniest little cues, which were just very, very powerful," she added.
Dalhousie University pediatrics professor Dr. Isabel M. Smith, who was not involved in the research, calls the findings "impressive." While other studies have looked into similar interventions for children with autism, Smith says this is the first one to involve children this young.
"It's really fantastic that we now have ways of intervening so early, and setting these kids on the right track," Smith, who is also the Joan and Jack Craig Chair in Autism Research, told CTV News. "Giving parents the skills to do that is just huge, and it makes a difference for kids."
Whitehouse says he and his team will be following up with the children who participated in the study all the way up to age seven, at which point they'll be reassessed. He also plans to develop training programs to ensure that anyone around the world can access iBASIS-VIPP.
"This is the first time anywhere in the world that we can actually reduce difficulties and promote development to the point that we're reducing the likelihood the kids receive a diagnosis. That's a really important milestone in autism research and we really hope that it creates significant benefits around the world," he said.
From London, to Mildmay, Collingwood and St. Thomas, here are some highlights of Friday night and Saturday morning's northern lights display.
For decades, North Bay, Ontario's water supply has harboured chemicals associated with liver and developmental issues, cancer and complications with pregnancy. It's far from the only city with that problem.
The Netherlands' contestant in the Eurovision Song Contest was dramatically expelled from competition hours before Saturday's final of the pan-continental pop competition, which has been rattled by protests over the participation of Israel.
The rolling hills leading to the hamlet of Rosebud are dotted with sprawling farms and cattle pastures -- and a sign sporting a simple message: No Race Track.
An evacuation alert was issued for two Wood Buffalo communities Friday night, as crews battled an out-of-control wildfire near Fort McMurray.
Evan Bouchard scored 5:38 into overtime and the Edmonton Oilers bounced back for a 4-3 win over the Vancouver Canucks in the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs on Friday.
Irresponsibly using a credit card can land you in financial trouble, but personal finance columnist Christopher Liew says when used properly, it can be a powerful wealth-building tool that can help grow your credit profile and create new opportunities.
A cyclist turned herself in and received a fine after striking a four-year-old girl who was crossing the street to catch a school bus.
Where you live plays a big factor in what you pay at the grocery store. And while it's no secret the same item may have a different price depending on the store, city or province, we wanted to see just how big the differences are, and why.
A family of fifth generation farmers from Ituna, Sask. are trying to find answers after discovering several strange objects lying on their land.
A Listowel, Ont. man, drafted by the Hamilton Tigercats last week, is also getting looks from the NFL, despite only playing 27 games of football in his life.
A small Ajax dessert shop that recently received a glowing review from celebrity food critic Keith Lee is being forced to move after a zoning complaint was made following the social media influencer’s visit last month.
The Canada Science and Technology Museum is inviting visitors to explore their poop. A new exhibition opens at the Ottawa museum on Friday called, 'Oh Crap! Rethinking human waste.'
The Regina Police Service says it is the first in Saskatchewan and possibly Canada to implement new technology in its detention facility that will offer real-time monitoring of detainees’ vital health metrics.
The stakes have been set for a bet between Vancouver and Edmonton's mayors on who will win Round 2 of the Stanley Cup playoffs.
A grieving mother is hosting a helmet drive in the hopes of protecting children on Manitoba First Nations from a similar tragedy that killed her daughter.
A chicken farmer near Mattawa made an 'eggstraordinary' find Friday morning when she discovered one of her hens laid an egg close to three times the size of an average large chicken egg.
A P.E.I. lighthouse and a New Brunswick river are being honoured in a Canada Post series.