Cudahy, WI
A 25-year-old female asked:
Baby boy is a 1month+5days old and he won't look anyone in their eyes. is it true that is a sign of autism or developmental delays ?
3 doctor answers • 4 doctors weighed in
Dr. Tanya Russoanswered
Pediatrics 27 years experience
Concerning: Visual development in infants is stimulated by contrast, so young infants will often look at the edge of your face or head rather than the eyes, but some brief eye contact, particularly when nursing, is expected. Pediatric ophthalmologists can evaluate your baby for vision loss, otherwise careful monitoring by your pediatrician can help early diagnosis of autism.
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Dr. James Fergusonanswered
Pediatrics 48 years experience
?never or briefly?: I would be concerned if an infant never looked at least briefly at your face/eyes, but not about autism. New babies often look and look away as if holding onto a steady gaze was too much stimulation to process at one time.If baby never fixes gaze or doesn't follow a light or object briefly to the midline, I would worry about vision. Discus this with your doc.
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
3.8k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
Dr. Marvin Ottanswered
Emergency Medicine 22 years experience
No: Babies all develop at different rates. Eye contact usually occurs in the 1-2 month period, but not always. Developmental milestones are guidelines that we use, but each individual child is different. The only way to tell if development is going normally is to watch how he changes over time. Hope this helps!
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
3.8k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
Last updated Aug 16, 2014
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