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Video: The importance of listening with the eyes

Eyes and ears work together to help us communicate with others. In a video interview with SFARI.org, Sophie Molholm explains that this process goes awry in children with autism.

By Sarah DeWeerdt

17 October 2012 | 1 min read

This article is more than five years old.

Neuroscience—and science in general—is constantly evolving, so older articles may contain information or theories that have been reevaluated since their original publication date.

One of the things that parents of young children say most often is “Listen to me with your eyes.”

This admonition reflects more than just the absurdities of parenthood. In fact, it’s crucial for children to listen with their eyes in order to learn to speak, says Sophie Molholm, associate professor of pediatrics at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York.

That process can be difficult for children with autism, however, because their brains have trouble integrating what they see with what they hear.

In a video interview at the Society for Neuroscience annual meeting in New Orleans, Molholm talked with SFARI.org about how the eyes and ears work together to help us communicate with others.