Handedness, eyedness and nasal cycle in children with autism

Objective: Autism is referred to as cerebral lateralization abnormality. In this study, the possible relationships among handedness, eyedness and nasal cycle in autism have been investigated. Materials and methods: Thirty-seven children with autism and 20 controls were included in the study. The patient group included 27 boys and 10 girls who ranged in age from 5 to 20 years. For hand preference, hand used to write and throw a ball was accepted as dominant hand. For eye preference or dominance, eye used to look through keyhole of a door was accepted as dominant eye. Nasal dominance was assessed by a method of measuring the nasal airflow. Results: The rates of left-handedness and left-eyedness were higher in children with autism compared to normal populations. A majority of children with autism had left nasal dominance. Conclusion: Autism and early language impairment may be associated with left handedness, eyedness and nasal dominance.(c) 2007 ISDN. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.