Attention to eyes and mouth in high-functioning children with autism.

Bar-Haim et al. (2006) watched where high-functioning boys with autism looked when they saw faces.

They used an eye-tracking camera to measure time spent on eyes versus mouth.

A matched group of typical boys watched the same faces for comparison.

The autistic boys looked at eyes and mouth the same amount as the typical boys.

No attention-allocation deficit showed up in the data.

Face-processing differences in autism must come from somewhere else.

van der Geest et al. (2002) saw the same null result when kids viewed whole cartoon people, backing up the finding.

Harrop et al. (2018) extends the story: autistic girls keep typical face-looking, while autistic boys show reduced social attention, so sex matters.

Costa et al. (2017) seems to contradict the target: high-functioning women with autism looked less at faces and eyes. The clash disappears when you note the target tested boys and P et al. tested women, revealing a sex-age gap.

Giesbers et al. (2020) also finds longer mouth gaze in autistic adults during complex emotions, showing the pattern may shift with age or task.

Stop assuming every autistic child avoids eyes. For high-functioning boys, eye and mouth attention is on par with peers. If social skills still lag, look beyond basic looking time. Check sex, age, and task demands before writing gaze goals in the treatment plan.