I read somewhere years ago -- and this may be incorrect -- that one indication that a child is autistic is that he doesn't point out things to others. The idea

I read somewhere years ago -- and this may be incorrect -- that one indication that a child is autistic is that he doesn't point out things to others. The idea was that autism predisposes one to believe that his own consciousness is the only one that exists, and when we point out something to someone else we are inviting them to share in this particular experience of observation. If it is in fact true, however, that autistic children do not point out things to others, might it not be due to the eye contact phenomenon discussed here? If you think about it, before pointing out something to someone else you usually establish eye contact with the person whose attention you wish to redirect.