CVI & Autism: Exploratory study of dorsal visual stream dysfunction in autism: A case series

A recent report by I. Hay, G.N. Dutton, S. Biggar, H. Ibrahim, D. Assheton appears in the January 2020 issue of Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders.

Abstract:

“Robust neuroscientific evidence supports the existence of an association between autism and a visual motion processing deficit, arising from dysfunction of the dorsal visual stream... The neuro-ophthalmic consequences of dorsal visual stream dysfunction (DVSD) are well-described but seldom reported":

• Simultanagnosia (impaired capacity to perceive visual elements surrounding the item of interest)
• Optic ataxia (impaired visual guidance of movement of the arms, legs, and/or body)
• Gaze apraxia (dysfunction of visual-search eye movements)

Article Highlights

• Profiles of visuomotor impairment consistent with dorsal visual stream dysfunction (DVSD) in 13 normally sighted children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) described
• Video evidence for optic ataxia given and a relationship between optic ataxia and motor impairment in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) proposed
• Linear relationship between configural disruption of line drawings in the Beery-VMI and severity of functional visual impairment reported
• Proposal that "piecemeal visual processing’"drives configural disruption in ASD and is consistent with the Central Coherence Theory for ASD
• Suggested that children with ASD with severe visuomotor impairment due to DVSD may benefit from specialist visual impairment support.

Read the full article.