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Little is known about deficient social interactions in very young children with autism. These researchers studied gaze direction in three groups of toddlers (mean age, 2 years); 21 had autism spectrum disorders (ASDs), 39 were typically developing (TD), and 16 were developmentally disabled (DD). All groups were age-matched; the ASD and TD groups were matched on nonverbal IQ, and the ASD and DD groups were matched on verbal IQ. Actors wearing electronic suits played children’s games (e.g., patty-cake), and these were filmed and developed into audiovisual point-light animations. Split-screen computer screens simultaneously displayed the animations — upright on one side and inverted, backward-played versions on the other (animations were rando…