Abstract
Short unstructured social interactions between a volunteer interviewer, an adult with autism of Asperger type, and a control subject with a schizoid personality disorder were video-recorded. Asperger subjects tended to look less at the other person, to make more self-stimulatory gestures, and to look at the interviewer significantly less than normal subjects, and substantially less than schizoid subjects, during the periods when the interviewer was vocalizing although there were no such differences when the interviewer was listening. We suggest that the gaze avoidance of autism may in actuality be a lack of expected gaze (e.g., gaze when the other person is talking) rather than an absolute avoidance, and suggest that a lifelong absence of gaze response to social cues including speech could explain a number of the developmental features of autism including lack of joint attention with others, lack of understanding and affective response to others, and poor discrimination of facial expressions.
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We are grateful to the many people who have helped and sustained us during the long gestation of this study, especially Uta Frith who has taught so effectively by example. Without the considerable assistance of our patients with Asperger syndrome, their families, and the professionals involved with them, the study would not have been possible and we take this opportunity to thank them. We are also grateful for the detailed and helpful comments of the anonymous reviewers appointed by the Journal. The study has been partly supported by a MRC Research Fellowship awarded to Digby Tantam, and by a research associateship awarded to David Holmes by Manchester Polytechnic.
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Tantam, D., Holmes, D. & Cordess, C. Nonverbal expression in autism of Asperger type. J Autism Dev Disord 23, 111–133 (1993). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01066422
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01066422