The role of vision for online control of manual aiming movements in persons with autism spectrum disorders.

Glazebrook et al. (2009) watched adolescents and young adults with autism aim at a target.

They turned the lights on and off to test how much the players needed vision.

Motion cameras tracked every finger wiggle and arm shift.

The ASD group still hit the target, but their hand path wobbled more.

They took longer to plan and to finish each reach.

Vision or no vision, the extra wobble stayed the same, so they used both eyes and body sense.

Craig et al. (2018) saw the same wobble in preschoolers with autism during catch-and-throw games.

They linked poorer aiming to weaker social-communication scores, showing the skill gap starts early.

Avni et al. (2021) looked at toddlers and found no eye-movement wobble at all.

The gap appears later, in arm and hand tasks, not in basic eye control.

Aznar et al. (2005) first spotted slow route planning when autistic kids simply walked to a goal.

Cherylm’s lab work now shows the planning hitch also lives in fast arm movements.

When you see a client miss, stutter, or overshoot, do not assume poor vision.

Give extra time for the plan phase before the reach.

Use light or dark rooms; they will still learn because they lean on body feedback.

Track social scores alongside motor drills—both may climb together.