Normal and deviant behavior in blind children with ROP.

Congenitally blind children, especially with ROP, are at risk for developing autistic traits. Early behavior risk screening would be of value, but no instruments with acceptable specificity are available. Traditional behavioral symptoms of infantile autism also characterize blind children without autistic disturbance. This report attempts at identifying early behavior patterns that distinguish autistic from non-autistic blind children with ROP. Developmental data, parents' reports, and video-recordings are analyzed. It is concluded that observations of developmental delays are not specific enough in screening out the risk group. However, it is possible to describe a behavior pattern, emerging between 12 and 30 months, of unresponsitivity and stereotypic object manipulation, which distinguishes autistic and non-autistic subjects. This might be a pattern of specific risk behavior in blind children. However, further prospective studies must be performed to test these proportions.