(CBS) Scientists may not agree on what causes autism, but a new study that looked at kids' facial characteristics might help researchers understand the origins of the developmental disorder.

PICTURES: Is it autism? Facial features that show disorder
The study found that children with autism have distinct differences in facial characteristics than typically developing children.
"There is no clear answer about whether autism is caused by genetics or by environmental influences," study author Dr. Kristina Aldridge, assistant professor of anatomy at the University of Missouri School of Medicine, said in a written statement. "If we can identify when these facial changes occur, we could pinpoint when autism may begin to develop in a child."
For the study - published in the Oct. 14 issue of Molecular Autism - researchers compared facial features in 64 boys with autism with faces of 41 typically developing boys, all 8-12 years old, with a 3-D camera system. After mapping out 17 points on faces, the researchers found significant differences between the two groups.
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