Why do autistic students avoid eye contact?

Transcript

 As an autistic person, I used to force myself to make eye contact in conversations. I would have a certain number of seconds that I would take to look at someone and then look away, and that would go on for the entire conversation. And then afterwards I'd always walk away having no idea what we just talked about or about the instructions that were given to me because I was so heavily focused on just seeming normal and making that eye contact.

While eye contact is still very much a cultural norm, it is not necessary for participating in conversations, and there's a lot of good reasons why it's tough for autistic people to do it. As I mentioned in this last example, it's really distracting and it's really draining. I get so much sensory input already from the conversation itself and from all of the stuff that might be going on around me, that it can completely drain an autistic person to make eye contact on top of that. It can also sometimes be downright painful. With all of that sensory stuff going on, it can lead us into overload or into a state of dysregulation. Now if you have students that maybe aren't making eye contact, well that's not the only way that they can show that they're paying attention.

Other signs that students may be paying attention while also feeling comfortable are if they're nodding along, if they're looking in your general direction or generally at your face, um, or if they're asking relevant questions or glancing up while they're taking notes.

Support does not have to be complicated or overwhelming. Our professional development covers topics like this and more with very actionable strategies that you can immediately apply. And you can find all about that at socialcipher.com.

‍

Follow us @socialcipher on TikTok and YouTube for more educator-focused videos about neurodivergence!

‍