Joint attention provides clues to autism and cooperation

Psychologists and philosophers convene to discuss the roots of shared knowledge at a meeting in Waltham, Mass.

Different paths to childhood autism

Being born into a world of darkness provides an unappreciated avenue to autism, researchers suggested October 2.

Within the first few months of life, babies display a basic form of what researchers call joint attention. An infant will maintain a steady gaze with a nearby adult and imitate that adult’s simple actions, such as sticking out the tongue. By age 2, joint attention becomes more complex. Two children, for example, can convey with just a look that they both know that one toy is better than another.