Expert: Jene Aviram - 7/12/2009

Question
I am concerned about my 11 week old son.  He makes minimal eye contact.  When I sit him on my lap in front of me, he turns his head side to side to avoid looking at me.  I can get him to smile and laugh really easily by kissing his feet, rubbing his head or holding a burp cloth over his eyes to play peek a boo, but he wont look directly at me while doing it.  I have noticed that he will make brief eye contact with me from farther distances like his change table or bouncy chair.  If he's in the right mood, he will track large colorful objects, but otherwise doesn't have much interest in toys and won't really fixate on them when I put them in front of him. He had his eyes checked by an pediatric optometrist last week and everything is fine.  In terms of other development, he is holding his head up on his own, can lift his head and shoulders off the ground when on his belly, coos all the time, and seems to be somewhat responsive to my voice.  Once in a while, we give him a pacifier and he has some trouble keeping it in his mouth, however if he's sleepy, he can get a good suck going and hold it in.  He was born at 39 weeks via c-section because he was breech.  He was a healthy 7 lbs 3, oz and 21.5 inches long.  He got a 9 on both Apgars.  I had mild hypothyroidism during pregnancy that my doctor chose not to treat until I was about 26 weeks, so I am really scared that this may have affected my baby's brain development.  My biggest fear is that his lack of eye contact is an early sign of autism.  Any advice on how I should proceed from here would be greatly appreciated.  Thank you!

Answer
Hi Ashley,

It's always a good idea to talk to your pediatrician if you're concerned, but I don't think you have any reason to be worried.  Your son's vision is not yet fully developed.  Depending on how far away he is, many objects still appear out of focus, and as his vision develops, he will become more interested in the world around him.

It's wonderful that he likes to play peekaboo, and that he smiles and laughs so easily.  You will find as the weeks go by, that he will have more interest in looking at toys such as mobiles, or things such as aquarium that attaches to the side of the crib.

I now it's hard not be concerned, especially since eye contact is associated with autism.  But you'll be amazed how many parents are worried about their child not making eye contact at this early stage, and later on are relieved that everything is just fine.  Mention it to your pediatrician anyway, as he will be able to check your child in person, and probably put your mind at ease.
It sounds to me like your baby is right on track.  Enjoy him.  The time goes by so fast!

Jene Aviram
http://www.nlconcepts.com