ASD and eye contact…
Friday, May 3, 2024.
In her book"Living on the Spectrum," Valerie L. Gaus introduces the concept of "eye punctuation," which refers to the various ways in which people use eye contact to convey meaning in social interactions.
For folks with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), understanding and interpreting these cues can be challenging.
However, with practice and training, humans with ASD can learn to decipher the nuances of eye contact and improve their social communication skills with neurotypicals.
One strategy for training the brain to focus on how eye contact is used is to engage in structured social skills training programs. Learning the specific strategies of using your eyes as punctuation is a completely learnable skill, akin to the focus an actor might bestow upon expressing the physicality of a movie scene. It’s no coincidence that neuro-typicals themselves lack an accurate understanding of human eye contact.
These programs often include exercises and activities designed to help humans with ASD recognize and interpret different types of eye contact, such as prolonged gaze, fleeting glances, and averted eyes.
By practicing these skills in a supportive environment, individuals with ASD can gradually learn to use eye contact more effectively in their social interactions.
Another helpful strategy is to use visual aids, such as picture cards or videos, to help those with ASD learn to make appropriate eye contact in different social situations.
These visual aids can provide concrete examples of how eye contact conveys emotions, intentions, and social cues, making it easier for individuals with ASD to understand and replicate these behaviors in their own interactions.
It's also important for folks with ASD to receive feedback and guidance from trained professionals, such as therapists or counselors, who can provide personalized support and strategies for improving their social communication skills.
Eye contact conveys information…
Eye contact is a key component of nonverbal communication, playing a significant role in conveying emotions, intentions, and social cues in social interactions. For neurotypical individuals, interpreting these cues often comes naturally, but for individuals with ASD, it can be a challenge due to differences in how their brains process social information.
Research suggests that folks with ASD may approach eye contact differently, sometimes avoiding it altogether or having difficulty interpreting its meaning. This difference in processing can impact their ability to understand social situations accurately and respond appropriately, leading to misunderstandings and difficulties in forming social connections.
Valerie L. Gaus's concept of eye punctuation highlights the idea that eye contact is not just a static behavior but a dynamic and nuanced form of communication. We use eye contact in various ways to regulate interactions, express interest or disinterest, indicate turn-taking in conversation, and convey emotions such as empathy, concern, or affection.
The Eye Punctuation intervention…
You’ll need a friend or partner to help you with this. Select a short paragraph from a book or magazine. Also, give your partner a copy of these instructions.
Sit down comfortably and read through these instructions in silence. Please note that this is a visualization-based intervention. It will help you fine-tune and modulate your use of eye contact.
Consider the concrete idea of how commas and periods are used. Commas indicate pauses, and periods mark endings.
What do commas and periods have in common? They both indicate a break in the flow of speech. And that is a good time to use your eyes.
Close your eyes as your partner begins to read the chosen passage aloud. Imagine seeing the words being written on a page. Note in your mind where you feel the need for a comma or period as you hear the passage being read.
Open your eyes and have your partner read the same passage aloud once more. But this time, make brief eye contact with your counterpart where you feel the need for a comma or period.
Discuss the exercise, but maintain a lingering awareness of the connection between commas, periods, and eye contact as you speak.
Final thoughts
Learning to recognize these subtle cues can be beneficial for improving social communication skills for people with ASD.
Training programs often focus on teaching neurodiverse humans how to interpret different types of eye contact and understand their meanings in context. By learning to recognize these cues, humans with ASD can become more adept at understanding social situations and responding appropriately.
Moreover, understanding the concept of eye punctuation can also help people with ASD feel more confident and comfortable in social settings. And it’s also helpful for NT’s to learn more about human differences.
By gaining insight into the role of eye contact in social interactions, we can all learn to use it more effectively, enhancing our ability to connect with others and navigate social situations more successfully.
Be Well, Stay Kind, and Godspeed.
