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

Research report on case studies of individuals with dorsal visual stream dysfunction and Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)

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By Carmen Zarate

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.