Vestibular stimulation and eye contact in autistic children

Five autistic boys ages 5-1 to 5-10 were studied to determine whether stimulation of the macular receptors of the inner ear through linear motion influences the boys' eye contact with the investigators. The duration of eye contact was measured during linear motion on a motor-driven oscillator and on two hand-operated swings and compared to the duration of eye contact when the macular receptors were not stimulated. Because the boys varied in cooperation, the tests could not be performed using the same apparatus with each child; therefore results were analyzed separately for each child. Four of the five boys showed longer eye contact while on the motor driven oscillator (p less than .0005), and two of these also showed longer contact when on a manually operated swing (p less than .025). The fifth child resisted the use of the oscillator and did not show longer eye contact while on it (p greater than .05), but did so when on two different swings (p less than .005).