Oculomotor Function in Children and Adolescents with Autism, ADHD or Co-occurring Autism and ADHD.

The study measured eye movements at one time point and did not test treatment, so it cannot show that eye movement differences cause autism or ADHD or that therapy can change them. The anti-saccade task had limited usable data: only 116 participants had valid data, and 121 participants were excluded because they could not complete at least 6 viable trials. The main findings were not replicated in the Nottingham confirmatory cohort, which included 101 children and adolescents. The sample was broad, from 4 to 18 years, and age was adjusted for rather than compared in narrow age groups. Some participants had additional conditions such as anxiety, which may affect eye movements. Group sizes were unequal, which the authors note may reduce power.

The supplied text lists funding from the Medical Research Future Fund (EPCD000002), an Australian Government Research Training Program Scholarship, a National Health and Medical Research Council Senior Research Fellowship (1154378), an NHMRC Investigator Grant L2, and Monash University. It does not report author competing interests.

Do not read these eye movement differences as a diagnostic test or as evidence that a treatment will help autism or ADHD. The paper reports group comparisons, not diagnostic accuracy or treatment outcomes.