Eye Contact in ABA: Should We Teach It?

Eye contact means looking toward another person's eyes during social contact. For years, ABA treated it as a key early goal. Now the field is rethinking that choice.

This debate matters for BCBAs, RBTs, teachers, and parents. Eye contact goals show up in many treatment plans. But experts now ask a harder question. Are we teaching the form of a behavior, or its real purpose? The answer changes how, and whether, we teach it at all.

Form versus function#

ABA once chased eye contact for its own sake. The look itself became the target. Later, the field saw what really mattered underneath it.

So we didn't identify joint control as the important part of eye contact for a while, but we identified that eye contact was really important. But functionally, what it was doing was it was allowing for social interaction and it was allowing for increased learning opportunities. The form of it itself, the eye contact, wasn't necessarily the important part of that. From the talk — Mark Malady, BCBA

Here is the core idea. Eye contact was never the goal. Social connection and learning were the goal. The look was just one path there. When teams drilled the look alone, they missed the point.

This is a classic case of topography over function. Topography means what a behavior looks like. Function means what it does for the person. Chasing the look can produce a stiff, empty stare that helps no one.

Listening to autistic advocates#

The eye contact goal has drawn strong criticism. Many autistic adults say forced eye contact felt painful and pointless. The field has started to hear that feedback.

the eye contact one has been chased a lot by autistic advocates. And our field has been pretty responsive of kind of listening and working through that and trying to reorganize ourselves around, hey, should we have been doing that over this time period? From the talk — Mark Malady, BCBA

That reflection is healthy. It shows a field willing to question its past work. It also warns us to slow down before writing eye contact into a plan.

although conceptually and theoretically, you can walk out a narrative story about how eye contact is foundational to social interaction, it's not actually presenting that for the person. And we need to be cautious about jumping in and making recommendations. From the talk — Mark Malady, BCBA

A neat story is not proof. What sounds foundational in theory may not help this learner today.

Culture changes the meaning#

Eye contact is not the same everywhere. Its meaning shifts by culture, age, and setting. A goal that ignores this can do harm. In the talk, Mackenzie Sandler notes that in some cultures, looking straight at an elder is rude.

Picture a child taught to hold eye contact with a grandparent. In some homes, that reads as disrespect. The "skill" could clash with the family's values. That is why culture must guide every goal.

Age matters too. Young people often connect through screens, not faces. Adults may read that as rude, but it is normal for them.

I will say that most teenagers, I don't care where you're from most teenagers, this is their eye contact, right? It's in their devices. It's not on you. From the talk. Mackenzie Sandler

Payers have noticed these concerns as well. Some now push back on plans that force this goal.

I'm happy to say that some insurance companies will now completely reject for plans if you have an eye contact goal in there. Because again, eye contact is culturally relevant. It's not the same for everyone. From the talk. Mackenzie Sandler

A better way to think about the goal#

The lesson is not "never look at eyes." It is to check the purpose first. Ask what social outcome the person actually needs. Then ask if eye contact truly serves that outcome for them.

If it does, teach it gently and with consent. Use natural, social rewards instead of forced drills. If it does not, let it go. The person's comfort and real connection come first.

Measure the outcome, not the stare#

Old plans counted seconds of eye contact. That number is easy to track but easy to misread. A high count can hide a stressed, masking child. It tells you little about real connection.

Better measures look at the social result. Does the child respond to a shared moment? Do they follow a point or share attention with joy? Do learning chances rise when they engage with a partner? These signs matter far more than raw eye time.

Consent belongs in the plan as well. A learner can show discomfort in many ways. Watch for pulling away, tension, or distress. If the goal causes pain, the cost is too high. Respect that signal and adjust the plan.

What the research says#

Some researchers argue the whole question is framed wrong. One paper suggests we stop calling eye contact a behavior. Instead, it treats contact with the eyes as a consequence for looking. Looking at faces gives the child useful social information. The real target becomes making social interaction a reward for that looking (Espinosa, 2025).

Newer methods lean on natural, social rewards rather than prompts. One study coached parents over telehealth to shape eye contact during play. Two preschoolers with autism learned to look during natural social moments. The teams used preferred social activities, with no prompting and no nonsocial rewards. Parents reported high satisfaction and clear signs of child happiness (Strömberg et al., 2025).

Together these studies point the field in a kinder direction. They favor natural social value over rigid, prompted stares.

FAQ#

Should BCBAs teach eye contact?

It depends on the person and their goals. Eye contact is not valuable on its own. It matters only if it helps real social connection for that learner. Always weigh culture, consent, and comfort before adding this goal.

What is joint control in relation to eye contact?

Joint control here points to the shared social function behind eye contact. The value was never the look itself. It was the social interaction and learning the look enabled. Teams now aim at that function instead of the raw behavior.

Why do autistic advocates object to eye contact goals?

Many describe forced eye contact as stressful and unhelpful. It can feel like masking to satisfy others. Advocates ask the field to respect that experience. Their feedback has pushed ABA to rethink this common goal.

Culture shapes many clinical targets, a point developed further in Cultural Considerations in ABA Clinical Practice.