A new study led by Dr. Ipek Oruc and her team found that people with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have a different visual experience with seeing faces compared to people without ASD, which might explain why their facial recognition skills do not develop as well as others.
The ability to recognize and process faces develops gradually over time, with frequent exposure to familiar faces playing a key role. People without autism typically see a lot of familiar faces each day, which helps them become skilled at recognizing faces. However, people with ASD do not develop the same level of face recognition skills, possibly because they have reduced social interactions.
Using cameras worn by research participants, Dr. Oruc and her team analyzed over 360 hours of daily footage and found that adults with ASD were exposed to faces 30 per cent less often than those without ASD. This was mainly due to less exposure to familiar faces, like friends and family. In contrast, both groups encountered a similar number of unfamiliar faces, such as strangers in public places.
“In our study, we found that adults with autism spectrum disorder tend to see faces from farther away, making the faces appear smaller,” says Dr. Oruc, an Associate Professor in UBC’s Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences. “This is true for both familiar faces and unfamiliar faces.”
For example, familiar faces were viewed on average 229.77 cm (around 7.5 feet) away by people with ASD, while non-autistic adults saw them on average 115.87 cm (about 3.8 feet). The difference in viewing distance is important because larger faces are easier to recognize and seeing faces at close distances is believed to help develop strong face recognition skills. The farther distances and smaller face sizes in the visual experiences of people with ASD may hinder the development of these skills.
The study, published in the journal Current Biology, also found that people with ASD were more likely to see familiar faces from the side (profile view) rather than straight on (frontal view). This pattern of seeing faces from the side might be linked to avoiding eye contact, which is common in people with ASD as it can reduce their discomfort.
“Our findings suggest that people with ASD may have face viewing experiences that are different from typical social interactions,” notes first author Dr. Todd Kamensek, who recently graduated from UBC’s Graduate Program in Neuroscience. “This may explain why people with autism often may have difficulties recognizing faces.”
Overall, the study suggests that how people with ASD see faces—both in terms of distance and angle—may limit the development of strong facial recognition skills. As a result, Dr. Oruc and her team highlight the potential benefits of face recognition training programs to help improve these skills in people with ASD.
