Page 1 of 1 [ 5 posts ] 

eikonabridge
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 25 Sep 2014
Age: 61
Gender: Male
Posts: 929

08 Aug 2017, 12:31 am

Why Eye Contact Is So Distressing For People With Autism

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/autism-eye-contact_us_5980ee58e4b09d24e993ae32

A study shows eye contact has nothing to do with empathy and we may need to rethink its importance in our society.
...
The study published in June in Scientific Reports reveals that people with autism spectrum disorder avoid eye contact because it causes anxiety, and not as an unintentional demonstration of lack of empathy. Not only does this validate what people with autism have been saying for years, it also suggests we’ve been applying wrong ideas to therapeutic intervention for kids with autism.
...
Dr. Susan Fletcher-Watson, who heads up the Development Autism Research Society, or DART, at the University of Edinburgh, argues that training autistic individuals to make eye contact is a bit like a left-handed person training themselves to write with the opposite hand.

“There’s no real evidence that improving eye-contact leads to better friendships or real world adjustment,” Fletcher-Watson says in a blog on DART’s site. “If eye contact makes the neurotypical community feel more comfortable, maybe it is our responsibility instead to learn to adapt to the interactive style of autistic people. If we’re so ‘socially skilled,’ then why are we so bad at doing this?”


- - - - -

One small step in the right direction. See how people's opinion change. People used to believe the earth was flat, too. People used to believe that homosexuality was a mental disorder, too. When you tell parents/educators today that they shouldn't worry about eye contact issues, they don't believe you. Now, see how the world is changing. When you tell parents/educators today that we shouldn't pay any attention to verbal/social/behavioral issues of autistic children, they think you are crazy. I am not crazy. I am just 40 years ahead of everybody else. As I always say: catch up if you can. There is a reason why my children are always happy, everyday. Smart, and happy.

And remember this equation:

1+2+3+4+... = -1/12

Yeap, your "common sense" is your biggest enemy. We've been wrong about autism for 74 years. Time to wake up.

Visual-manual development, starting with your children's interests. Very simple. Let go all your craze about verbal/social/behavioral issues. If you can't draw pictures, you are the one that is mentally ill. Fix your mental illness first, for your children's life depends on you. (Remember your kindergarten days? Go back to being a child, and you'll be able to draw pictures... just like before.)

As for the millions of lives already ruined by our society, tell me, how are you going to look straight into these children's eyes and tell them you are sorry?


_________________
Jason Lu
http://www.eikonabridge.com/


Chronos
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 22 Apr 2010
Age: 44
Gender: Female
Posts: 8,698

08 Aug 2017, 12:41 am

eikonabridge wrote:
Why Eye Contact Is So Distressing For People With Autism

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/autism-eye-contact_us_5980ee58e4b09d24e993ae32

A study shows eye contact has nothing to do with empathy and we may need to rethink its importance in our society.
...
The study published in June in Scientific Reports reveals that people with autism spectrum disorder avoid eye contact because it causes anxiety, and not as an unintentional demonstration of lack of empathy. Not only does this validate what people with autism have been saying for years, it also suggests we’ve been applying wrong ideas to therapeutic intervention for kids with autism.
...
Dr. Susan Fletcher-Watson, who heads up the Development Autism Research Society, or DART, at the University of Edinburgh, argues that training autistic individuals to make eye contact is a bit like a left-handed person training themselves to write with the opposite hand.

“There’s no real evidence that improving eye-contact leads to better friendships or real world adjustment,” Fletcher-Watson says in a blog on DART’s site. “If eye contact makes the neurotypical community feel more comfortable, maybe it is our responsibility instead to learn to adapt to the interactive style of autistic people. If we’re so ‘socially skilled,’ then why are we so bad at doing this?”


- - - - -

One small step in the right direction. See how people's opinion change. People used to believe the earth was flat, too. People used to believe that homosexuality was a mental disorder, too. When you tell parents/educators today that they shouldn't worry about eye contact issues, they don't believe you. Now, see how the world is changing. When you tell parents/educators today that we shouldn't pay any attention to verbal/social/behavioral issues of autistic children, they think you are crazy. I am not crazy. I am just 40 years ahead of everybody else. As I always say: catch up if you can. There is a reason why my children are always happy, everyday. Smart, and happy.

And remember this equation:

1+2+3+4+... = -1/12

Yeap, your "common sense" is your biggest enemy. We've been wrong about autism for 74 years. Time to wake up.

Visual-manual development, starting with your children's interests. Very simple. Let go all your craze about verbal/social/behavioral issues. If you can't draw pictures, you are the one that is mentally ill. Fix your mental illness first, for your children's life depends on you. (Remember your kindergarten days? Go back to being a child, and you'll be able to draw pictures... just like before.)

As for the millions of lives already ruined by our society, tell me, how are you going to look straight into these children's eyes and tell them you are sorry?


Eye contact is not actually a universal thing. In some cultures, it's disrespectful to make eye contact with superiors or those of the opposite sex. However in western culture, particularly American culture, eye contact is important.

I taught myself to make eye contact by starting with photos, and also accepting the fact that I drew more attention to myself when I didn't make eye contact than when I did.



traven
Veteran
Veteran

Joined: 30 Sep 2013
Gender: Female
Posts: 12,964

08 Aug 2017, 1:14 am

Generally when a broad majority hold a believe, there's every reason to doubt that,

the mindset of society has been directed to narcissm, everything narcistic has in a shady way been put up as 'best'

manipulators and liars play with the power of the eye.

//the ear is even worse, you can't close that one, others' bs goes straight in the think-word patterns\\



StampySquiddyFan
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 19 Jul 2017
Age: 20
Gender: Female
Posts: 3,754
Location: Stampy's Lovely World

08 Aug 2017, 8:55 am

I agree. I don't think anybody with ASD should be forced to make eye contact of they don't want to. It's quite painful, to be honest.


_________________
Hi! I'm Stampy (not the actual YouTuber, just a fan!) and I have been diagnosed professionally with ASD and OCD and likely have TS. If you have any questions or just want to talk, please feel free to PM me!

Current Interests: Stampy Cat, AGT, and Medicine


kitesandtrainsandcats
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 6 May 2016
Age: 60
Gender: Male
Posts: 3,965
Location: Missouri

08 Aug 2017, 10:56 am

That's a really good question - " If we’re so ‘socially skilled,’ then why are we so bad at doing this?”"
Any of you NTs out there have a really good answer?

Quote:
"Dr. Susan Fletcher-Watson, who heads up the Development Autism Research Society, or DART, at the University of Edinburgh, argues that training autistic individuals to make eye contact is a bit like a left-handed person training themselves to write with the opposite hand.

“There’s no real evidence that improving eye-contact leads to better friendships or real world adjustment,” Fletcher-Watson says in a blog on DART’s site. “If eye contact makes the neurotypical community feel more comfortable, maybe it is our responsibility instead to learn to adapt to the interactive style of autistic people. If we’re so ‘socially skilled,’ then why are we so bad at doing this?”"


_________________
"There are a thousand things that can happen when you go light a rocket engine, and only one of them is good."
Tom Mueller of SpaceX, in Air and Space, Jan. 2011