Toddlers with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) often have difficulty focusing on people's faces and making eye contact, but a new study by Yale School of Medicine researchers found that these same toddlers do not have difficulty looking at photographs of faces.
The researchers, led by Katarzyna Chawarska, assistant professor at the Yale Child Study Center, also found that toddlers with ASD spend most of the time examining
"This is a surprising finding, given that avoiding eye contact is one of the classic hallmarks of autism," says Chawarska, whose team will present their work at the International Meeting for Autism Research May 3-5 in Seattle, Washington.
"The results are preliminary and will require further replication and extension," adds Chawarska, "but they suggest that pictures of faces and eyes are, by themselves, neither inherently unattractive nor inherently aversive to toddlers with ASD. Therefore, the limited attention to faces and eyes observed in natural settings may be due to the fact that faces don't stand out to them as much as other objects in the environment. There also may be heightened arousal related to the complex social and perceptual context in which faces usually occur."
The study examined visual scanning patterns and recognition of faces and abstract patterns in toddlers. The data were collected through an eye-tracking system. Chawarska says toddlers with ASD and developmental delays were impaired when recognizing faces they had seen previously.
"When given time to familiarize with a picture of a face, both groups spent more time looking at the outside features of the face, such as the hair, ears and the neck compared to their typically developing peers," says Chawarska. "It is therefore likely that toddlers with disabilities were having a harder time encoding information regarding facial identity because they were simply looking less at facial features, which are of greatest help in extracting this type of information.
"We also found it interesting that those toddlers with ASD who adopted a pattern of looking at faces which closely resembled the pattern of typical toddlers, were less socially impaired and were also better at face recognition," she notes.
Chawarska says the next step is to closely examine the spatial and temporal characteristic of the children's visual scanning patterns. "While typical and developmentally delayed toddlers move quickly between various inner elements of the face, scanning rapidly between the left and right eye, toddlers with ASD tend to look longer at specific facial features than other children, which might signify an idiosyncratic approach to face processing specific to ASD in early development," she notes.
Other authors on the study included Frederick Shic, Ami Klin and Dr. Fred Volkmar.
-- By Karen Peart
T H I S
the eyes.
W E E K ' SS T O R I E S
Center's initiative to promote understanding of Middle East
New policies offer academic relief to Ph.D. students who are new parents
Despite challenges, accessibility improving in Yale buildings
'Growing and Learning Together'
Immunology comes of age at the School of Medicine
The nation needs more 'conversation,' says television anchor
SOM HONORS
State Hispanic organization recognizes the school for . . .
First-year students win an online contest involving the simulation . . .
Yale Rep ends season with East Coast premiere of 'The Unmentionables'
Art exhibit explores the question: 'What Is a Line?'
Smoking status a 'red flag' for alcohol misuse, study finds
Study reveals abnormal patterns of facial recognition . . .
Student-made machines will vie in 'Yale Robot Wars' competition
Display explores historical process of globalization
Panel to discuss the early shapers of globalization
Show sketches the lives of residential college namesakes
Divinity School event to examine issues of 'Faith and Citizenship'
Brain networks strengthened by closing ion channels, study finds
Attention deficits found in teen smokers who were exposed to . . .
A2K2 conference will focus on access to knowledge issues
Films and readings will offer insights into views on aging in India and Japan
Center's inaugural conference will explore ways that social . . .
Event showcases medical students' original research
New system eliminates wait time for bus riders
Campus Notes
Bulletin Home|Visiting on Campus|Calendar of Events|In the News
Bulletin Board|Classified Ads|Search Archives|Deadlines
Bulletin Staff|Public Affairs|News Releases|
E-Mail Us|Yale Home