Do we look at mouth instead of eyes due to being...

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analyser23
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25 Jul 2013, 8:29 pm

distracted by movement?

Being highly distracted by visual movement is a trait for those with an ASD, and yesterday when I was watching TV I realised that I tend to look at a person's mouth more than their eyes because there are more obvious and bigger movements going on there. There isn't really a lot of "movement" happening with someone's eyes compared with their mouth, or hands, or of course other stuff going on around us at the time.

I have seen a few programs where they show what someone with an ASD looks at during a conversation and it tends to be more so their mouth than their eyes...

Just a thought!


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redrobin62
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25 Jul 2013, 8:40 pm

Hmm. Seems like you might have a point there.



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25 Jul 2013, 8:41 pm

I've done so yes. Even with still images, I can't look at anyone's eyes. I often look at the mouth at best, nut often must turn away entirely to consentrate on listening, especially if there is distractions as well. I also try and focus away from the eyes and the background. That's only if I want to engage in conversation though :?


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ParaSait
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25 Jul 2013, 9:08 pm

It's just social anxiety for me I think
Nowadays I look into people's eyes more because I've taught myself to be more spontaneous in conversation.


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btbnnyr
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25 Jul 2013, 9:25 pm

In general population, verbal intelligence has been linked to mouth looking, so people with higher VIQ tend to look at mouth, with emphasis on verbal communication.


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LoverOfDragons
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25 Jul 2013, 9:37 pm

Dude, you could possibly be right on that one! Okay, I'll admit that sometimes I do look at people's eyes, but I also look at their mouths. I tend to even look at something that is behind them yet somehow seem as though I am looking at them. But avoiding the eyes when socializing is indeed something a lot of autistic people do.



analyser23
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25 Jul 2013, 9:40 pm

btbnnyr wrote:
In general population, verbal intelligence has been linked to mouth looking, so people with higher VIQ tend to look at mouth, with emphasis on verbal communication.


That is interesting! I wonder which one came first though.... Did we get distracted by mouths and hence increased our VIQ, or is it the high VIQ motivating it?


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btbnnyr
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25 Jul 2013, 9:47 pm

Also, mouth-looking has been associated with greater language/communication ability in ASD.

Quote:
Eye-movement patterns are associated with communicative competence in autistic spectrum disorders

Background:  Investigations using eye-tracking have reported reduced fixations to salient social cues such as eyes when participants with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) view social scenes. However, these studies have not distinguished different cognitive phenotypes.

Methods:  The eye-movements of 28 teenagers with ASD and 18 typically developing peers were recorded as they watched videos of peers interacting in familiar situations. Within ASD, we contrasted the viewing patterns of those with and without language impairments. The proportion of time spent viewing eyes, mouths and other scene details was calculated, as was latency of first fixation to eyes. Finally, the association between viewing patterns and social-communicative competence was measured.

Results:  Individuals with ASD and age-appropriate language abilities spent significantly less time viewing eyes and were slower to fixate the eyes than typically developing peers. In contrast, there were no differences in viewing patterns between those with language impairments and typically developing peers. Eye-movement patterns were not associated with social outcomes for either language phenotype. However, increased fixations to the mouth were associated with greater communicative competence across the autistic spectrum.

Conclusions:  Attention to both eyes and mouths is important for language development and communicative competence. Differences in fixation time to eyes may not be sufficient to disrupt social competence in daily interactions. A multiple cognitive deficit model of ASD, incorporating different language phenotypes, is advocated.


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Sona_21
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25 Jul 2013, 10:09 pm

More than eyes certainly, often when I'm trying to look in the eyes but get too anxious.



eric76
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25 Jul 2013, 10:29 pm

In some cases, I look at breasts.



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25 Jul 2013, 10:36 pm

I don't know, I look at peoples' mouths when listening to them because watching their eyes is too intense and distracting, but I've noticed that when I try looking at the eyes of movie characters, I can't see their whole face, it's like everything below the bridge of their nose has been cut off and I feel like I'm losing important visual information by paying attention to nothing but their eyes.


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Bunmum
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25 Jul 2013, 11:25 pm

I feel like I can understand ppl better when looking at their mouth. I feel like it also give the illusion that I am looking them in the eyes, though I tend to have that blank look when listening.



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26 Jul 2013, 12:11 am

I have trouble looking at people's faces during conversation. I might watch them while they talk, but I'll generally look away, toward a wall or something, to think of a reply. I just get anxious when I look someone full in the face, I s'pose. Also, if I'm at work, I'll try to find something to do before I start talking to someone, so I have an excuse to talk without looking up at them. I worry that this makes me seem stand-offish, but it's the only way I can seem to keep a train of thought going consistently.



Noetic
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26 Jul 2013, 12:28 am

Surely it's the mouth rather than the eyes that's supposed to move?



LupaLuna
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26 Jul 2013, 12:35 am

Any time I make Eye to Eye contact. I go into absolute sensory overload. It's like my mind is being flooded with a bunch of noise much like a jet engine at full throttle.



GregCav
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26 Jul 2013, 1:15 am

I can bairly remember, but I think I used to look at eyes and face a lot more when I was young.

I think I started looking at mouths simply because I couldn't understand what they were saying. I think audio processing was the initial reason for me. Then for whatever reason, they eyes became a no-go zone.

The intensity when looking at someones eyes is so great that I can't hear what they say at all. I hear sounds, but I can't string the words together into anything meaningful while I'm looking at the eyes.

For the last year I've been trying to look at the eyes. I'm getting better at it now, but find it a lot harder to hear what they are saying.