AJN, American Journal of Nursing:

November 2008 - Volume 108 - Issue 11 - p 21

doi: 10.1097/01.NAJ.0000339147.55867.ce
In the NEWS

Eye Contact and Autism

Worth, Tammy

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Abstract

During the first few months of life, infants focus on the faces of their caregivers, learning the
cues of social interaction through eye contact. But children with autism tend to focus less on the
eyes, suggesting that they learn a different means of socialization early on.

In a study conducted by the Yale Child Study Center in New Haven, Connecticut, researchers
attempted to determine whether the amount of eye contact made by children with autism was
different from that of other children and whether that measurement could be used to predict
levels of social disability. Among 66 two-year-olds studied, 15 had autism or autism spectrum
disorder, 36 were normally functioning, and 15 had developmental delays that did not include
autism.

The toddlers were shown 10 short videos of actresses looking into a camera and engaging them
in games like pat-a-cake and peek-a-boo. Eye-tracking equipment, including a camera
programmed to pan and tilt in response to a child's movements, gauged where the children were
focusing: on the eyes, mouth, body, or objects. The researchers found that autistic children spent
24% less time focused on the women's eyes and 14% more time focused on their mouths than did
the other children. Autistic children also focused more on the women's bodies and on other
objects. There was a significant correlation between fixation on the eyes and social ability:
children who focused less on the eyes than their counterparts were more socially impaired.

Figure. Caitlyn Whee...

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"Babies learn a great deal by exploring the world with their eyes," says Warren Jones, a study
coauthor. "If they are actively seeking out nonsocial interaction, they are going to develop along
a different pathway."

Tammy Worth

AJN, American Journal of Nursing:

April 2009 - Volume 109 - Issue 4 - p 17
doi: 10.1097/01.NAJ.0000348582.81296.23
In the News

NewsCAP: Children exposed to antiepileptic drugs in the

womb may have an increased risk of autism
Section Editor(s): Kennedy, Maureen Shawn MA, RN

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Author Information

E-mail: shawn.kennedy@wolterskluwer.com

Children exposed to antiepileptic drugs in the womb may have an increased risk of autism,
reported the Liverpool and Manchester Neurodevelopment Group in the December 2, 2008, issue
of Neurology. The study included 632 children, 296 born to mothers with epilepsy, 249 of whom
were exposed to antiepileptic drugs in the womb (the mothers of the remaining 47 infants had
epilepsy but didn't take drugs). Among the 336 children of mothers without epilepsy, three
(0.9%) were diagnosed with autism. Of the 249 children of mothers who took antiepileptic drugs,
seven (2.8%) were diagnosed with autism. These included four (6.3%) of 64 children whose
mothers took sodium valproate, a rate of autism higher than that in the general population.
Although results are preliminary, the researchers believe there's an increased risk of autism in
infants exposed to sodium valproate in utero and that women "should be counseled
preconceptionally and informed specifically of this potential risk."

© 2009 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, Inc.