Weekly Podcast – Why is it so hard to look them in the eye?

Published December 12, 2016

There is an ongoing debate about why people with autism avoid eye contact. There is data to support both, but as this behavior emerges very early, it’s important to look at data from preverbal children to understand the origins of changes in eye contact. Many scientists also feel that avoiding eye contact snowballs over the lifespan and deprives people with autism from developing social skills. Infants don’t even know why they avoid eye contact so at the Marcus Autism Center in Atlanta, researchers are using eye tracking technology to answer this question. The findings have clear implications for early intervention strategies.

This week’s podcast with Dr. Alycia Halladay features Jennifer Moriuchi, a graduate student at the Marcus Autism Center at Emory University. Click here to listen.

Filed under: Autism, eye contact, featured