Gaze aversion indicating decreased risk for autism in prematures

Premature babies are at an increased risk for developing autism spectrum disorder (ASD). However, a new study indicates that preemies who avoid eye contact in early infancy are less likely to demonstrate symptoms of autism at age 2 than preemies who maintain eye contact during early interactions.

“Children with autism typically have challenges with social interaction and may avoid eye contact, but it turned out that children in this study who had characteristics of autism at age 2 were more likely to maintain eye contact and not avert their gazes in early infancy,” said Bobbi Pineda, PhD, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri.

The research is published in the July/August issue of the American Journal of Occupational Therapy...

Early intervention can benefit children with ASD; however, while signs of autism have been observed in infants as early as 2 to 6 months, the disorder is difficult to diagnose before age 2.
In the new study, the researchers observed behavioural symptoms characteristic of autism in a particularly high-risk group of young children: those born prematurely. Observing early behaviours may give researchers and clinicians indicators to look for early in life so they can recommend timely diagnostic testing and interventions to improve a baby’s adaptive responses and outcome...

Surprisingly, we found that the children who later screened positive for autism were more likely as infants to not avert their gazes during social interaction,” said Dr. Pineda. “They were more likely to sustain eye contact.”

He speculates that premature infants in the NICU may avert their gazes as a coping mechanism to help them deal with the stress of an intense environment during a vulnerable period of development. So absence of gaze aversion, she said, could signal an inability to avoid stressors.

“This could explain why some infants behave differently in social interactions as babies than later, as children,” said Dr. Pineda. “Better understanding how autism traits emerge along the developmental pathway is an important area for future research.”

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