A comparison of the development of audiovisual integration in children with autism spectrum disorders and typically developing children.

The team watched kids with and without autism watch videos. The videos had sound and picture that matched or mismatched.

They asked which kids noticed the mismatch. They tested kids aged 8 to 18 to see if age changed the answer.

Younger kids with autism missed more mismatches than same-age peers. By the teen years the two groups looked almost the same.

The gap closes as kids get older.

Ainsworth et al. (2023) ran the same test with more kids and got the same catch-up pattern. Their 2023 data confirm the 2010 picture.

Freschl et al. (2021) saw the opposite in toddlers: two-year-olds with autism spotted fast visual changes better than peers. The studies seem to clash, but age is the key. Early sharp vision may turn into later trouble linking sights and sounds, then level off again.

Pulliam et al. (2025) tied the same audiovisual skill to reading scores. Better sound-plus-sight matching meant better comprehension in both autistic and typical fourth-to-twelfth graders.

Do not assume a ten-year-old who seems lost in noisy classrooms will stay that way. Sensory gaps shrink with time. Use age-based checklists, not autism labels alone, when you plan supports. If reading is hard, check audiovisual timing first; fixing the timing may boost decoding and understanding.