Author: ECNU review of education
Published: 2025/04/03
Type of publication: Experimental study reviewed by peers
Issue: Autism Information – Publications List
Page content: Synopsis – Introduction – Major – Ideas, updates
Synopsis: New research challenges the assumption that the reduction of visual contact defines autism, which suggests that natural play behaviors offer better diagnosis and intervention knowledge.
Why does it matter: This study reviewed by peers, published in the ECNU review of education, defies the long belief that reduced visual contact is a definitive marker of autism. Directed by researchers from the Institute of Artificial Intelligence for Education of the Normal University of China of China, the study used an Observation Laboratory with AI to analyze the social attention of children in natural environments, revealing that both autistic and typical children focus mainly on toys instead of faces during the game. Traditional diagnostic tests, often made in controlled clinical environments, can overlook critical nonverbal communication signs such as hands movements. These findings suggest that interventions that emphasize visual contact may not be universally beneficial and that alternative approaches, such as the use of caregivers gestures, could be more effective. The study underlines the need for updated diagnostic criteria and personalized intervention strategies, benefiting not only researchers and doctors, but also parents, educators and caregivers, including those who work with children with disabilities, Disabled world (DW).
Introduction
Is it a child who doesn’t look at always autistic people? A closer look at joint – Journal: ECNU Review of Education.
It is believed that children with autism face difficulties in social interactions, in addition to also lacking the ability to be attentive while interacting with others. In fact, the avoidance of visual contact is a key behavior marker in the clinical diagnosis of autism. However, most developing children also rarely make direct visual contact during everyday game interactions, questioning the applicability of this behavioral marker in diagnoses.
Main article
When conducting more research to decode the behavioral indicators of autism, a new study led by Lu Qu and Qiaoyun Liu in the Institute of Artificial Intelligence of Education of the Normal University of the Normal University of Eastern China revealed that autistic children exhibit social care patterns similar to their classmates typically in development during the game, with a primary approach in toys instead of faces. Published online at the ECNU Review of Education on March 17, 2025, its findings challenge the long time assumption that the reduction of visual contact is a definitive marker of autism.
According to researchers, most conventional studies use an artificial clinical environment to measure children’s joint care skills. These tests involve presenting stimuli, such as toys, children and observe their view patterns to evaluate their ability to follow and start joint attention. However, these tests are generally carried out in standardized laboratory environments and may not completely reflect the performance of children in natural environments.
To conventional methods, the authors in this study used a new non -intrusive observation laboratory to analyze the gaze, vocalizations and movements in the limitations of adjunation of natural environments of traditional evaluations based on laboratories such as the Diagnostic Observation Program of Autism (attached). This approach captured authentic behaviors, revealing that standardized tests can overlook critical social communication strategies. The research involved the multimodal behavior analysis of children in three groups: typically in development children, autistic children and children with delays in development. The ethical approval was obtained from the Normal University of EAST China, with funds from the China Postdoctoral Sciences Foundation and the National Program for Key Research and Development.
The results of this study were quite surprising.
Autistic and typically in development children spent 60% to 80% of their game time centered on toys and only 6% -14% looking at the faces of adults, which suggests that the avoidance of visual contact may not be exclusive to autism. It was also found that nonverbal communicative signals, such as movements by caregivers, play an important role in joint attention during interactions. These results are aligned with recent studies in current biology (2022), which found that children rarely look at the faces during the natural game, regardless of the diagnosis of autism.
These findings may have important implications to understand the sections of attention in children with autism.
According to the authors, the long -date belief that autistic children avoid visual contact can be exaggerated. While it is known that autistic children look at their parents’ faces less frequently than children who typically developing, this difference may not be so significant. In addition, these findings suggest that children can use other communication signals to participate in social environments, especially during the activities related to the game.
In addition, these findings could also have significant implications for clinical practice. Many clinical interventions for autistic children focus on improving attention and encouraging visual contact. However, the results of this study suggest that these interventions may not be suitable for all autistic children, especially for game -related activities. On the other hand, the authors suggest that using alternative interventions, such as the positions of the hands of parents and communicative gestures, could be more effective.
«Our findings emphasize the need to rethink interventions focused only on visual contact,» they say that the main researchers Qu and Liu. In addition, they claim that «addressing broader signals, such as gestures, could better support the development of the communication of autistic children.»
The study requires updated diagnostic frameworks and personalized intervention strategies that reflect the various ways in which children are socially involved.
According to what and liu:
«In this era of artificial intelligence, our understanding of the central symptoms of autism needs continuous update. Classical research paradigms must be reexamined, and continuous exploration and research must be carried out to understand the natural behaviors of children in social communication, especially in a natural environment.»
In the future, researchers expect studies like this to help improve and provide proper and effective support for autistic children.
Editorial Note: This study causes a critical reevaluation of autism diagnoses and interventions, highlighting the limitations of traditional clinical environments. By incorporating naturalistic observations promoted by AI, research provides a more nuanced understanding of social communication in autistic children. If diagnostic frameworks continue to depend on obsolete behavioral assumptions, they run the risk of misrepresenting the various ways in which children interact with their environment. Future studies must adopt innovative methodologies to refine both diagnosis and intervention, ensuring that they reflect the experiences of the real world of autistic people, Disabled world (DW).
Attribution/source (s): This pairs reviewed publication was selected for publication by the Disabent World (DW) editors due to its relevance for the disability community. Originally written by ECNU review of education and published on 2025/04/03, this content may have been edited by style, clarity or brevity. For more details or clarifications, ECNU review of education It can be contacted in ECNU NOTE: Disapreded World does not provide any guarantee or endorsement related to this article.
Citing and references
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Quot this page: ECNU Education review. (2025, April 3). Study questions Visual contact as an autism marker suggests new approaches. Disabled world (DW). Retrieved on April 5, 2025 from www.disapabled-world.com/health/neurology/autism/eye-contact-autistics.php
Permanent link: Study questions Visual contact as an autism marker suggests new approaches: New research challenges the assumption that the reduction of visual contact defines autism, which suggests that natural play behaviors offer better knowledge of diagnosis and intervention.
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