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Updated: Aug 16, 2025
Eye Tracking Young Children with Autism
Published on: March 27, 2012
Brief Report: Differential Persistence of Primary Reflexes for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Systematic
Olive Healy1, Elaine Reilly2, Joanna Davies3
1School of Psychology, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland. Olive.Healy@tcd.ie.
Insights
The study found that persistent primary reflexes, like snout and visual rooting, were more common in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). This suggests these reflexes may serve as early biomarkers for ASD.
Area of Science:
- Neurodevelopmental Pediatrics
- Developmental Psychology
- Autism Spectrum Disorder Research
Background:
- Primary reflexes are automatic newborn movements.
- Understanding their persistence can offer insights into neurodevelopmental conditions.
- Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a complex neurodevelopmental condition.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the prevalence of five primary reflexes in children with ASD.
- To identify variables predicting the persistence of these reflexes.
- To compare reflex presence in children with ASD, developmental disabilities, and typically developing children.
Main Methods:
- Assessed five primary reflexes (snout, visual rooting, sucking, tactile rooting, grasp).
- Analyzed reflex presence and persistence in three groups: ASD, developmental disability, and typically developing children.
- Matched typically developing children to ASD participants by chronological age.
Main Results:
- Children with ASD showed a higher prevalence of snout and visual rooting reflexes.
- Specific reflex patterns differed between the ASD group and controls.
- Persistence of certain reflexes was noted in the ASD cohort.
Conclusions:
- The persistence of primary reflexes may serve as a potential biomarker for Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).
- Further research is warranted to validate these findings for early ASD detection.
- This study highlights the link between early motor patterns and neurodevelopmental outcomes.
Abstract:
Primary reflexes are highly stereotypical, automatic movements comprising much of the motor repertoire of newborns. The current study examined rates of presence of five primary reflexes (snout, visual rooting, sucking, tactile rooting, and grasp) and variables predictive of their persistence for children with ASD (n = 35), developmental disability (n = 30), and typically developing children matched to participants with ASD on chronological age (n = 30). There was a higher prevalence of snout and visual rooting reflex among children with ASD. These data suggest that the persistence of primary reflexes holds promise as a biomarker for autism spectrum disorder (ASD).
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