The relationship between atypical visual processing and social skills in young children with autism.
Preschoolers with autism who glance sideways a lot tend to have weaker friendships, so teach them to steady their gaze during social moments.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Hellendoorn et al. (2014) watched preschoolers with autism while they played. The team counted sideways glances and how kids grouped toys.
They later asked parents how well each child got along with peers and teachers.
What they found
Kids who looked sideways more often had weaker friendships. Toy grouping style did not link to social skills.
The pattern held even when the children were very young.
How this fits with other research
Cohrs et al. (2017) saw the same gaze-social link in older youth. They added that less eye-looking also predicted poorer daily living skills.
Lemons et al. (2015) seems to disagree. They found no heart-rate jump when preschoolers with autism met someone’s eyes. The key difference: they studied mutual gaze, not sideways glances. Lateral looks may flag social drift, while direct gaze may not feel scary.
Pan et al. (2025) deepen the story. They tracked both eye movement and heart rate during social cartoons. Kids with autism looked less at emotional parts and showed flat arousal. Together these papers show that odd visual habits and low bodily response travel together and hurt social growth.
Why it matters
If a child keeps glancing away during play, do not wait. Place preferred toys or peers in the line of gaze. Use brief cues like “Look” or tapping the table to draw eyes back. Over time these small shifts can build stronger peer bonds.
Want CEUs on This Topic?
The ABA Clubhouse has 60+ free CEUs — live every Wednesday. Ethics, supervision & clinical topics.
Join Free →Place a peer or toy directly in front of the child and give a quick verbal cue each time the child looks away.
02At a glance
03Original abstract
The present study examined whether atypical visual processing is related to the level of social skills in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Thirty-eight young children with ASD (29 boys, 9 girls) were included. Atypical visual processing was assessed by coding the number of lateral glances and the amount of object grouping behavior on videotaped observations of the ADOS (aged 35 ± 9 months). The level of social skills was measured using the subscale interpersonal relationships of the Vineland SEEC (32 ± 7 months). A negative relationship with a medium effect size was found between lateral glances and interpersonal relationships. Object grouping behavior and interpersonal relationships were not related. This study suggests that visual perception may be a mechanism in the development of interpersonal relationships in ASD, which is in accordance with an embodied approach to social cognition.
Research in developmental disabilities, 2014 · doi:10.1016/j.ridd.2013.11.012