Would You Be Concerned? - Palmerton,PA

I'm sorry I had to chuckle a little at the image I got when reading this:

Mom picks up child under arms and holds directly in front of her staring intently, questioningly (with a worried expression) directly into her 20 month old's eyes.
Child looks into mom's eyes, thinks to herself "Sheesh...why do they DO this??? and looks away.......

I'm not making light of your concern. Just make sure you're looking into it in a detached, non-threatening way. Mention it at her 2 yr. check up!

Nah - normal. The "fixation" our little man had with faces and eyes has also faded. He's 14 months - he doesn't stand still for 2 seconds, much less make meaningful eye contact.

Remember, they've only JUST arrived to the planet. Lots to see!

From my experience with little kids, the direct intense gaze is intense and does have potential to be intimidating if there's a upsetting situation going on.

While some parents will insist that their kids look them in the eye, I actually ask preschoolers to "look at my nose" when I need their attention.

Autism is not just about eye gaze, there's a lot of criteria in several different realms which must be met. Do bring it up at the next checkup if you are concerned. Sometimes this is a passing part of their development.

My son is five and has some issues with maintaining eye contact, however, we are thinking it may have to do with vision function (not acuity--this is more about how the eyes work together and can be related to reading, etc.), so if you are still seeing this tendency to not look people in the eyes when she's older, do talk to your doctor about having her vision function checked out by a professional. There are therapies for this.

Enjoy your little girl!

It may actually be her eyesight. You should contact a pediatric opthamologist. Do you have a children's hospital in your area? They would have one on staff.

Dawn

I kind of agree with One&Done, and that's the same picture I got in my head. LOL! If people were constantly intently staring into my eyes, I'd be freaked out too!

But in all seriousness, I agree with her, bring it up at her checkup.

With things like this, you need to go with your gut.
Avoiding eye contact can mean several things. You can get an early childhood intervention evaluation at no cost to you for a child under 3 years of age. Contact your local ECI program.
I am a former ECI teacher.

My daughter is 3 and it's hard for her to maintain eye contact. I agree with other posts, it could be intimitating for her. Personally, I don't like maintaining eye contact either with adults. It's a strange feeling. I had her eyes checked at here 3 year appointment and everything was fine.

while my son did have eye problems while a baby ( had surgery at 2 to straighten one and was blind in the other by 7) he is just a shy quiet 12 year old. He has never looked someone in the eye. He will look at your face but to make eye contact nope. He said its to intimidating. He doesn't have any other problems... he is a normal shy kid who has never liked eye contact. I wouldn't jump the gun and have him tested at 20 months just because of this. This there was other problems or "flags" then bring all of them up at her check up.

( Im not trying to be mean) but I think too many parents get freaked out and the worst comes to mind right away instead of loving thier children for who they are. If some obvious behaviors come up then yes its time to get checked out... until that point let them be a healthy child with out always worrying if something is wrong with them. ( I know easier said than done)

Have a good day

go to the eye doctor asap. She probably has vision issues and J. needs glasses, and it strains her eye up close. When my daughter was 3 and had one eye crossing in they saw her right away to make sure everything else was ok.Oh wait I read this wrong and thought she squinted when looking at you up close..I agree with below