A blood test that can detect Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) may be on the horizon, which is HUGE, and many affected by autism are saying hallafreakinglujah.

Up until now, children are screened by licensed professionals for autism behaviorally. There isn’t any definitive test that comes back with a concrete yes or no result, which is frustrating af. On top of that, families often have to wait up to a year to even have their child seen, which leaves parents feeling helpless. A physiological test means families can know quickly and more confidently if their child is on the spectrum, and at an earlier age. Juergen Hahn – a lead author, systems biologist, and professor – and a team of colleagues are to thank for this new-ish development.

So, how does this test work? In a nutshell, Hahn and his team (Hahn not-so-solo?) focused on patterns in certain metabolites in the blood that have been thought to be linked to ASD via two cellular pathways – the methionine cycle and the transsulfuration pathway. I have no idea what those are but they sound important, so rock on!

Just last year, Hahn created a predictive algorithm by focusing on 24 of said metabolites in a group of people – half of whom had been diagnosed with ASD and half of whom hadn’t – which led him to successfully detect ASD with about 96% accuracy.

This year, Hahn piggybacked on his original study with data on a new group of people, and even though he only had access to 22 out of the 24 metabolites, he was still able to predict autism in individuals with 88% accuracy.