An area of the brain known as the dorsal parietal cortex shows less activity when someone who has ASD makes eye-to-eye contact compared to someone who does not, say scientists from the Yale University School of Medicine.
Children with autism do not avoid eye contact, but miss social cues when gazing at others, a new study shows.
Autism & Lack Of Eye Contact - The Connection
Children with autism sometimes avoid making eye contact with other people for many reasons. And for most of them, they in no way are linked to autism. The same can be said for some adults.
But between 2 and 6 months, eye-looking behavior began to drop in the children later diagnosed with autism. The decline continued throughout the course of the study. By 24 months, the children with autism focused on the caregiver's eyes only about half as long the children without autism.
Like their peers without autism, they didn't look away from the eyes or try to avoid the eyes in any way." However, when varying levels of socially meaningful eye contact were presented, children with autism looked less at other people's eyes than their peers without autism.
Autistic people often prefer to view inanimate objects over people interacting. This atypical gaze pattern may help clinicians flag autism before other traits appear. The average age of diagnosis in the United States is 4 years.
Eye contact: Avoidance of eye contact is ADHD behaviour – your child/young person may look as if they are ignoring you but some find making eye contact really difficult. 2. Fidgeting: Not standing or sitting still or fiddling with something whilst you are talking with them, i.e. toys, cushions etc.
Signs of High-Functioning Autism in Children
May appear more mature for their age and have above-average intelligence. A tendency to avoid eye contact. Trouble deviating from a routine or adapting to changes. Trouble making friends and maintaining social relationships or not “fitting in” with peers.
Why Children Might Avoid Eye Contact. While seeking out direct gaze is normal human behavior, there are situations in which some kids will have trouble with eye contact. These might be medical, such as children who have visual impairments, which can make direct gaze challenging, says Dr. Smith.
According to Scientific American, failing to make eye contact is one of the earliest signs of autism in toddlers and children. If mom believes that this is a concern with her child, it is best to speak to her medical professional in charge of her child's care.
The findings suggest that despite social communication difficulties associated with ASD, children with ASD demonstrated increased eye contact with their parent.
Use a smile, tickle, laugh, hug, squeeze, make funny faces, make funny sounds, or whatever your child likes, to reinforce when your eyes meet. Make eye contact when you stand in front of a swing and push the swing, when catching him at the bottom of the slide, and when you catch him as he jumps in a pool.
It's important to note that just because a toddler may exhibit some signs of autism, it does not necessarily mean they have autism. Some toddlers may show delays in communication or socialization due to other factors such as hearing loss, language barriers, or even simply being introverted.
They have social anxiety or autism spectrum disorder
Therefore, avoiding eye contact seems to be an involuntary response to the face stimuli they struggle to process. Those with social anxiety also have a difficult time in social situations.
A child with ADHD may not be able to pay attention to any subject. An autistic child may have high levels of focus on their favorite topics, but may not be able to engage in subjects that interest them less.
Autism is very distinct from ADHD, but the core symptoms of ADHD-Combined type, i.e., attention deficit, impulsivity, and hyperactivity, would appear to also be features of autism. ASD and ADHD are neurobiological disorders characterized by similar underlying neuropsychological “deficits”.
Some of the frequent facial features of autism are a broader upper face, shorter middle face, wider eyes, bigger mouth, and the philtrum [19]. The use of facial features as a physical marker to detect autism is one of the most exciting topics in autism research.
Some people who have autism actively avoid eye contact and appear confused and anxious when it occurs. Some seemed to make eye contact relatively early but later reported they were actually looking at something that fascinated them (such as their reflection in one's eyeglasses).
Summary: Individuals with autism spectrum disorder often find it difficult to look others in the eyes as they find eye contact uncomfortable or stressful.
However, they look up to the mother or caregiver for social referencing and hover around or cling to the caregiver. Children with an ASD are not vigilant and do not look up to the caregiver for social referencing. They may not cling to the caregiver, although go up to them for succor.
Children with autism prefer their mothers to strangers and attempt to remain close to them as much as other children. However they do not engage in attention sharing behaviors such as pointing or showing objects. They also do not seem to recognize the meaning of facial expressions and emotions.
About stimming and autism
Stimming might include: hand and finger mannerisms – for example, finger-flicking and hand-flapping. unusual body movements – for example, rocking back and forth while sitting or standing. posturing – for example, holding hands or fingers out at an angle or arching the back while sitting.