Eye contact and visual follow
Typically developing babies are capable of fixing and focussing (to some extent) from birth. However, their visual structures (e.g. lens and retina) and cortex are still maturing, adjusting and making sense of the images seen. The muscles used to co-ordinate the eyes to work together are also still maturing, and fixing is often monocular rather than binocular. Babies may appear cross-eyed in the first few months. When young babies do follow an object, they may do so in a jerky fashion.
Colour receptors (cones), especially those in the focal area (fovea) take longer to develop sensitivity (although they are present and active from birth).
The infant’s vision develops rapidly in the first months of life and is usually at normal acuity (“20/20”) by six months of age.
In this video the therapist uses love of movement and singing to encourage eye contact and link it with a request for more.
Key Point
Babies will tend to see high contrast better in the initial months. Black and white geometric patterns provide the most contrast and therefore will be easiest to see. When testing fix and follow, hold the stimulus between 20 and 30cm away from the infant’s face and move in an arc following the contours of the baby’s face.
