Excessive blinking is often accompanied by other tics and repetitive behaviors in children with autism. These behaviors can be categorized into two types: motor tics and vocal tics.
Face mask: Typical individuals blink their eyes in sync with an actor on a screen, but only when they can see his whole face. Unlike typical controls, adults with autism do not synchronize their eye blinks with those of other people, according to a study published in the July issue of Neuropsychologia1.
What causes excessive blinking? Excessive blinking can be caused by the problems with the eyelids or front surface of the eye, habit, need for glasses, eye misalignments, or stress. It is very rare for it to be caused by an underlying neurological disorder.
An autistic person may repeat certain behaviors like tapping fingers or blinking their eyes. These repetitive behaviors are often called stimming. They may also repeat the same sounds or phrases, a behavior called “echolalia.”
Stimming appears when the individual is stressed out, nervous, or overstimulated in an environment. Tics are commonly involuntary and harder to suppress. They involve an unexpected movement of body parts, such as flapping hands, repeating words, rocking, and blinking.
Children with autism often experience sensory overload and may use blinking as a way to regulate their sensory input. Another theory is that it may be a repetitive behavior or a tic, which is common in children with autism.
Increased blink rates have recently also been observed in adults with ADHD during a continuous performance test of 20 min, with faster increments with time-on task in adults with ADHD compared to controls (Fried et al. 2014).
While this symptom is not typically worrisome, it's important to see your pediatrician or ophthalmologist if your child blinks a lot or has other concerning symptoms. Rarely, excessive blinking can be a sign of a neurological problem or lead to loss of vision.
What is blepharospasm? Blepharospasm is a rare condition that causes your eyelid to blink or twitch. You can't control it. This is called involuntary blinking or twitching. The twitching is caused by a muscle spasm around your eye.
For instance, studies have shown that we blink more when we are experiencing a high cognitive load than when our brains are not being taxed. Also, researchers examining brain activity in relation to blink rate have concluded that a high blink rate can signify a disengagement of attention.
The most common eye movement disorder in people with ASD is strabismus, a condition that causes the eyes to point in different directions. The eye turns can happen all the time, or only intermittently, for instance when a person is tired.
In previous studies, children with autism have been found to have unusually wide faces and wide-set eyes. The cheeks and the nose are also shorter on their faces (Aldridge et al., 2011).
The aforementioned results demonstrated that the duration of gaze on the eye area was related to the level of autistic traits. The higher the level of autistic traits, the shorter the fixation time of the eye area, and the more likely it is to show eye avoidance.
Defining the Traits and Behaviors of Level 1 Autism
Difficulty switching between activities. Problems with executive functioning which hinder independence. Atypical response to others in social situations. Difficulty initiating social interactions and maintaining reciprocity in social interaction.
If you still hear people use some of the older terms, you'll want to know what they mean: Asperger's syndrome. This is on the milder end of the autism spectrum. A person with Asperger's may be very intelligent and able to handle their daily life.
There are two main causes for frequent blinking or lid squeezing in children: inflammation on the surface of the eye, and “functional” issues – essentially habits that children may develop. The commonest causes for eye surface inflammation in children are allergic eye disease and blepharitis.
The doctor might prescribe eyedrops, ointment, or other medicines if your excessive blinking is related to an eye injury, infection, allergies, or inflammation. A patch might also help your eye heal. If you have an ingrown eyelash or something else is in your eye, the doctor can get it out.
Excessive blinking can be caused by problems with the eyelids or anterior segment (front surface of the eye), habitual tics, refractive error (need for glasses), intermittent exotropia or turning out of the eye, the environment (changes in temperature or humidity, bright lights, or pain), and stress.
Habitual tics (involuntary repetitive body movements).
A common physical tic is blinking. Tics are usually caused by stress/anxiety, fatigue or boredom. In most cases, tics are harmless, and children outgrow them.
Some eye conditions are more common in people with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). These include refractive errors, such as astigmatism, and convergence insufficiency, which makes it difficult for the eyes to remain aligned when looking at nearby objects.
Early signs of autism usually appear in the first 1-2 years of life. Some children have many early signs of autism, whereas others have only a few. If your child shows early signs of autism, talk to your GP, child and family health nurse or paediatrician as soon as you can.