Why autistic people won't look others in the eye...

[AGXStarseed]

(Not written by me. Edited to remove the word "sufferers")


Why autistic people won't look others in the eye: Doing so causes individuals stress and makes them uncomfortable

• People with autism often avoid eye contact with some saying it feels like burning
• Scientists have used brain scans of autistic patients to back up their complaints
• Researchers found eye contact overstimulates the brain of an autistic person

People with autism often avoid eye contact, with some complaining it feels like 'burning'.

Often other people think they are being shy or indifferent, or that it is a sign of social awkwardness.

But now researchers have used brain scans of autistic patients to back up their complaints that eye contact is stressful and uncomfortable for them.

Researchers at the Massachusetts General Hospital in the US found that eye contact overstimulates the brain of an autistic person.

Dr Nouchine Hadkikhani, author of the study, said: 'The findings demonstrate that, contrary to what has been thought, the apparent lack of interpersonal interest among people with autism is not due to a lack of concern.

'Rather, our results show that this behavior is a way to decrease an unpleasant excessive arousal stemming from over-activation in a particular part of the brain.'


The nature of eye contact

Humans are from birth drawn to the eyes of the human face. This activates the subcortical system of the brain.

In autistic people, this region is oversensitive to the effects of direct gaze and emotional expression.


How was the study carried out?

Dr Hadjikhani and her colleagues measured differences in activation within the face-processing components of the subcortical system in people with autism and in control participants as they viewed faces either freely or when constrained to just looking at the eyes.

Autistic people had similar results to non-autistic people while allowed to look freely at the faces.

But when they were instructed to concentrate on the eyes, brain scans showed the autistic participants' brains were activated to a much greater degree.

This was especially true with fearful faces, although similar effects were observed when viewing happy, angry and neutral faces.

The researchers say their findings, published in the journal Scientific Reports, support the idea that there is an imbalance between the the brain's 'excitatory' network, which reacts to stimulation, and inhibitory network, which calms it down.


Don't force eye contact

Dr Hadjikhani said: 'The findings indicate that forcing children with autism to look into someone's eyes in behavioral therapy may create a lot of anxiety for them.

'An approach involving slow habituation to eye contact may help them overcome this overreaction and be able to handle eye contact in the long run, thereby avoiding the cascading effects that this eye-avoidance has on the development of the social brain.'


Source: Why autistic people won't look others in the eye | Daily Mail Online

 

[Sabrina]

My husband gave me a much simpler explanation: "I can look at you in the eye OR I can listen to you. I can't do both at the same time".
In my case, I can see people in the eye, but sometimes, when that happens, I completely forget of what we were talking about, and I end up looking like a person with Alzheimer's, it can be embarassing . It doesn't happen always, though.

 

[WildCat]

Why do I have an urge to say "no ****, Sherlock" every time I read an article like this?

WE'VE COMPLAINED ABOUT THIS BEFORE, WE TOLD YOU WHY AND YOU DIDN'T LISTEN.

I'll just say this though: with some people (notably, and probably only just, family members), it's not an issue. But I'm not going to chime in any further, I'll just let the "experts" roll out another study on that in the future.

 

[Judge]

Educating NTs about much of any aspect of autism remains daunting for a fundamental reason. We constitute a fraction of the population. So if autism doesn't impact their lives in some way, there's no reason for them to care- let alone know of our issues.

Though in my own case, it's one of those traits I've been able to manage. I've never been comfortable looking people in the eye (and never will), but it was something I forced myself to do at an early age. Though it's always critical for NTs to understand that just because one person can achieve it doesn't mean we all can either.

 

[WildCat]

Educating NTs about much of any aspect of autism remains daunting for a fundamental reason. We constitute a fraction of the population. So if autism doesn't impact their lives in some way, there's no reason for them to care- let alone know of our issues.

Thanks for the reminder there. I forget about that when I'm on a website like this, that we're still only a tiny segment of the world population

Still, I can say that there's useful information on the web and honest input from those on the spectrum, but whether parents or those close to them decide to take it seriously is their decision I suppose.

 

[Acorn_Elf]

It's hard to concentrate on what someone is telling me when looking in the eye. It was a huge problem in school when trying to learn and the teacher would tell me to look at them, and then wondered why I wasn't absorbing the info...

 

[Sabrina]

It's hard to concentrate on what someone is telling me when looking in the eye. It was a huge problem in school when trying to learn and the teacher would tell me to look at them, and then wondered why I wasn't absorbing the info...

 

[Sabrina]

So maybe that's why I always had to take notes in class ... interesting.

 

[Judge]

So maybe that's why I always had to take notes in class ... interesting.

LOL. I used to make occasional eye-contact with instructors just to keep them off my back. Especially the ones using the dreaded Socratic method of teaching. But in between I was taking copious notes anyways.

One thing I could never understand in working, was how people could be so annoyed by one's taking notes when trying to learn a new job. As if I wasn't really paying attention. Which couldn't be further from the truth!

 

[WereBear]

I do better than the average Aspie when it comes to eye contact; someone even pointed out my avatar does it

And I realize now I have been navigating a higher level of sensory input all my life... no wonder I was being accused of "high sensitivity" all the time. I WAS.

 

[toothless]

i probably do better than most LFAs,as my medications removed the eyes,i only see dots, i can outstare anyone which is a useful tool,eg- an idiot who isnt disabled but feels he has priority over every one parks in a disabled parking bay near yourself and you stare him out to make him feel bad,yep i do this.

i did see eyes before heavy anti pyschotics,any eye contact caused 'challenging behavior' in me.

 

[Mike Stouffer]

For myself, I'm listening for information and it distracts me from getting it some. I try hard to do so, like at Doctors offices but struggle with it. Just want the information so I can accurately process it.

 

[FreeDiver]

Why do I have an urge to say "no ****, Sherlock" every time I read an article like this?

WE'VE COMPLAINED ABOUT THIS BEFORE, WE TOLD YOU WHY AND YOU DIDN'T LISTEN.

The sad reality of it is is that autistic people just don't have much creditability in the NT world. Even Temple Grandin doesn't really have all that much influence out there. The problem is is that NT's think that we are just making this $h!t up.

 

[Tyrantus1212]

I don't look people in the eye if I feel like they're upset with me, or if I'm generally embarrassed to talk to them because I've strained the relationship between us at some point in the past. There was one coworker I didn't get along with in the past, and there's another one that I do get along with - and the one I didn't get along with has been wondering why I don't look her in the eye and why I look the other guy in the eye when I speak to them. Not an easy question to answer without hurting anyone's feelings, so I just stutter and end it with "hmmmm, not sure.", something of the sort which makes me look even more weird.

 

[WildCat]

The sad reality of it is is that autistic people just don't have much creditability in the NT world. Even Temple Grandin doesn't really have all that much influence out there. The problem is is that NT's think that we are just making this $h!t up.

It's like @Judge stated though:

Educating NTs about much of any aspect of autism remains daunting for a fundamental reason. We constitute a fraction of the population. So if autism doesn't impact their lives in some way, there's no reason for them to care- let alone know of our issues.

...so with so few of us, it's hard to get the message across. I'll have to disagree slightly with you there, as there are a certain minority (bad apples, I'm guessing) who do like to pull stuff out of their, well, you know...that gets on my nerves, even as a fellow autistic. BUT, for the those of us who can describe our thought processes when it's about social issues like this, I think the insight is fairly accurate. It's also good to have multiple perspectives from multiple people too, as I think that gives a clearer picture compared to just one person describing their difficulties.

 

[Judge]

It's like @Judge stated though:

...so with so few of us, it's hard to get the message across. I'll have to disagree slightly with you there, as there are a certain minority (bad apples, I'm guessing) who do like to pull stuff out of their, well, you know...that gets on my nerves, even as a fellow autistic. BUT, for the those of us who can describe our thought processes when it's about social issues like this, I think the insight is fairly accurate. It's also good to have multiple perspectives from multiple people too, as I think that gives a clearer picture compared to just one person describing their difficulties.

My point isn't about the few numbers of autistic people charged with trying to "get the message out" to NTs. It's about the inevitable apathy of a mathematically vast majority of people who simply have no perceived need to relate or want to understand neurodiversity for much of any reason.

I'm merely quantifying the observation that when something doesn't impact you as part of a social majority, it's far more likely for you not to give it much thought- or concern. Where one is more likely to compartmentalize and limit their compassion for others.

IMO a form of human behavior not confined to any particular neurological profile, but one more evident when manifested by a social majority rather than a social minority.

 

[Iamarock]

I learned how to get around this by looking at a person's mouth while they talk. To them it looks like I am looking them in the eye but for me I can avoid the uncomfortable eye contact that distracts me. One time a friend who has beautiful piercing blue eyes was talking to me about a very deep subject. I could not help myself from looking at his eyes because they were so hypnotically beautiful. I later had to admit to him that I hadn't heard a word he had said.

I think that because I can't look at someone in the eyes most of the time is one of the reasons that I am so bad at facial recognition. Often times lack of the ability to have good facial recognition is a trait that is attributed to aspies. I don't think it is a trait but rather a by product of not being able to maintain eye contact.

 

[ladybug]

(Not written by me. Edited to remove the word "sufferers")


Why autistic people won't look others in the eye: Doing so causes individuals stress and makes them uncomfortable

• People with autism often avoid eye contact with some saying it feels like burning
• Scientists have used brain scans of autistic patients to back up their complaints
• Researchers found eye contact overstimulates the brain of an autistic person

People with autism often avoid eye contact, with some complaining it feels like 'burning'.

Often other people think they are being shy or indifferent, or that it is a sign of social awkwardness.

But now researchers have used brain scans of autistic patients to back up their complaints that eye contact is stressful and uncomfortable for them.

Researchers at the Massachusetts General Hospital in the US found that eye contact overstimulates the brain of an autistic person.

Dr Nouchine Hadkikhani, author of the study, said: 'The findings demonstrate that, contrary to what has been thought, the apparent lack of interpersonal interest among people with autism is not due to a lack of concern.

'Rather, our results show that this behavior is a way to decrease an unpleasant excessive arousal stemming from over-activation in a particular part of the brain.'


The nature of eye contact

Humans are from birth drawn to the eyes of the human face. This activates the subcortical system of the brain.

In autistic people, this region is oversensitive to the effects of direct gaze and emotional expression.


How was the study carried out?

Dr Hadjikhani and her colleagues measured differences in activation within the face-processing components of the subcortical system in people with autism and in control participants as they viewed faces either freely or when constrained to just looking at the eyes.

Autistic people had similar results to non-autistic people while allowed to look freely at the faces.

But when they were instructed to concentrate on the eyes, brain scans showed the autistic participants' brains were activated to a much greater degree.

This was especially true with fearful faces, although similar effects were observed when viewing happy, angry and neutral faces.

The researchers say their findings, published in the journal Scientific Reports, support the idea that there is an imbalance between the the brain's 'excitatory' network, which reacts to stimulation, and inhibitory network, which calms it down.


Don't force eye contact

Dr Hadjikhani said: 'The findings indicate that forcing children with autism to look into someone's eyes in behavioral therapy may create a lot of anxiety for them.

'An approach involving slow habituation to eye contact may help them overcome this overreaction and be able to handle eye contact in the long run, thereby avoiding the cascading effects that this eye-avoidance has on the development of the social brain.'


Source: Why autistic people won't look others in the eye | Daily Mail Online

Very interesting article ..... my aspie partner and I often *both* prefer sitting at right angles...( on a corner of a table) as opposed to across a table (trad couple dining)..... lots of our first meetings/dates we would sit side by side... with very little/no direct eye contact at all....!! It seemed to allow him to chat/express himself...., we often laugh that our first date -felt like for me- an interview.... we sat across a small table when I wAs quizzed about lots of different topics and my thoughts on these.... and a brief (not really) history of his life/family/ancestry.... it was like a 'gathering' of information...... to see if we could be together....!!

 

[Eric B]

I know to me, it feels like I'm staring too much, and that the way I'm looking will look weird to them. Sometimes, it's a fear that they can see into my soul. It does feel a bit like a kind of burning, and that's the anxiety. I have to move my eyes away and try to look like I'm still looking the same direction.

 

[Cloudy]

This is really interesting to me, as I was never able to explain why I couldn't look people in the eye if they were wondering why. I could only explain that I felt huge anxiety, my eyes would tear up and I would not absorb a single word they said. I'm very self conscious of the fact that I don't make much eye contact though, and this doubles the anxiety! So I tend to try to make eye contact; its easiest with friends and family, but can be nearly impossible with strangers.
My first teacher used to chastise me every day for not looking he in the eye and used to try to force me to do so. This practice usually ended in tears!