A Yale researcher has found a way to detect autism in infants: Tracking their eye movements in an artificially created social setting. The theory is that the eyes of autistic infants will focus more on objects and avoiding looking at other people's eyes, according to an article in BHC Journal. An excerpt:
The study showed that the best predictor of autism was a reduction in eye region fixation time. Social functioning was shown to correlate significantly with fixation on mouths and objects. Those children who fixated more on objects were shown to have a lesser degree of social functioning compared to children who focused on mouths. Children who do not have autism typically focus on the eyes in social interactions. As a result, children with autism who focus on the mouth (or objects) can miss 90 percent of social cues that could otherwise help them interpret the communication properly.
Kelly Puente joined the Press-Telegram in 2006 as an editorial assistant and eventually worked her way up to general assignement reporter. Over the years, she’s covered everything from crime and breaking news to human interest and the cities of Bellflower and Cerritos. Kelly is a Long Beach resident and graduate of Cal State Long Beach. She’s new to the education beat and is looking for great stories.
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