Video: The importance of listening with the eyes

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.