Children with autism may have problem with visual skills: Study

By Dr. Ananya Mandal, MDDec 22 2010

A new study suggests that children with autism may lack certain visual skills needed to be independent in adulthood. Researchers at the University of Bristol in the United Kingdom said they might find it difficult to spot something.

The team interviewed 20 children with autism and 20 typical children to press buttons to find a hidden target among multiple illuminated locations in a room. Autistic children took longer to recognize patterns in the test structure that would help them choose where to search for the targets. This means that the ability to search for objects in a large-scale environment is less efficient and less systematic in children with autism compared to typical children, the researchers pointed out. Earlier theories suggest that autistic children are more sensitive to regularities within a system but less “systemizing” and more chaotic behaviour was noted in this study.

The study findings are published in the Dec. 20 issue of the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Study co-author Dr. Josie Briscoe said, “The ability to work effectively and systematically in these kind of tasks mirrors everyday behaviours that allow us to function as independent adults, and this research offers an exciting opportunity to explore underlying skills that could help people with autism achieve independence.”