Autism and vision - looking askance, poor eye contact, side viewing

We work with autistic patients, mostly children, at our Vancouver eye clinic. As parents and autism care providers know, vision based behaviors are characteristic of autism. Here are a few examples:

• Poor eye contact, 
• staring at lights or spinning objects, 
• looking askance, 
• side viewing, 
• general difficulties giving attention to visual stimuli, 
• Squints or closes an eye, 
• Stares at certain objects or patterns, 
• Looks through hands, 
• Flaps hands, flicks objects in front of eyes, 
• Looks at objects sideways or with quick glances, 
• Shows sensitivity to light (photophobia), 
• Becomes confused at changes in flooring or on stairways, 
• Pushes or rubs eyes, 
• Has difficulty making eye contact, 
• Widens eyes or squints when asked to look, 
• Bumps into objects, 
• Is fascinated by lights and shadows, and 
• Touches walls or tables while moving through space. 

People often assume that most autism spectrum behaviors are caused by the disorder. But they could be caused by underlying and treatable vision problems. Read more.

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