According to a new study, children with autism spectrum disorder process sounds a fraction of a second slower than other children. This abnormality gives insight into issues of language and listening that these children face.

Scientists used a non-invasive technology called magnetoencephalography (MEG) to record minute magnetic fields associated with electrical brain activity and detect the slight delay in the children where exposed to beeps, tones in pairs, vowels and sentences at different speeds, tones and frequencies.

The results were presented Monday at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA), in Chicago.

''This delay in processing certain types and streams of sound may underpin the subsequent language processing and communication impairment seen in autistic children, '' said researcher Timothy Roberts, vice chair of research in the department of radiology at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, in a news release issued by the RSNA.

The discovery of this sign of autism in brain activity will eventually become a biomarker to improve classification of the disorder and help with treatment and therapy planning, Roberts said.

''We hope that in the future, these signatures will also be revealed in the infant brain to help diagnose autism and allow earlier intervention,'' he added.

Autism inhibits functions of the brain which govern the development of social and communication skills. It is estimated that roughly one in every 150 American children is affected to some degree by the condition, although it tends to affect mostly boys, according to the Autism Society of America.