Autism and eye gaze abnormalities

Article By:

Moriuchi, Jennifer Department of Psychology, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia.

Jones, Warren Marcus Autism Center, Division of Autism and Related Disorders, Department of Pediatrics, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia.

Klin, Ami Marcus Autism Center, Division of Autism and Related Disorders, Department of Pediatrics, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia.

Last reviewed:2014

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1036/1097-8542.YB150918

Beginning in the first days of life, developing infants typically show a preference for looking at others' faces and eyes that persists into childhood and adulthood. Eye contact and preferential attention to social information are fundamental processes of social communication used to initiate and maintain interactions with others. Because attention to others is so integral to typical social experiences, atypical eye contact is, in contrast, one of the most striking diagnostic features of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), which is a developmental disorder defined by impairments in social communication. Indeed, atypical eye contact is often noted as a “red flag” (warning signal) for early developmental concerns.

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