I I am a photographer and work in a special needs classroom. I recently took photos of the student at their fall party. While editing I noticed that ALL of them have dilated pupils. I'm wondering why? It's not the flash either, as Ive never seen this in any of my photo sessions, even outdoor shoots with flash...

Mom with Aspergers daughter here. No, to dilated pupils. I've never read any connection with autism (ASD), either.

Anonymous wrote:my autistic son has huge pupils sometimes. I always ask about it to his dcotors, and no one knows what to do about it or why, they just shrug. All the pediatrician and neurologist say is that his pupils are reactive so no neurologic compromise. He does not have seizures. The days his pupils are large, are the days he seems slower to process and more in his own head. He has photo sensitivity. He is always the kid on the play ground shielding his eyes from the sun. I absolutely have to wear sunglasses outside, or I get a headache.

Kids with ASDS often have strange sensory integration problems. I would guess that huge pupils is part of their overall difficulty in sensory integration.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm another adult who has always had very dilated pupils. I can read even with eye drops in at the opthomologist. I get the lenses of my sunglasses dyed as dark as possible because the regular shade isn't enough - highly photophobic. No autism, in myself or in the family. I am mildly hypoglycemic though.

This is me as well, in every detail (although Maui's are dark enough without dying). Lots of ADHD, mood, and anxiety in the family but no autism. I do wonder about neurological vulnerability though, with Alzheimer's and Parkinson's in my parents generation.

I've never really thought about this until I read this thread. I have very large pupils. When I see myself in pictures (that have not removed the red-eye), my entire eye looks like devil eyes. I always notice this bc no one else looks like this in pictures but me. In high school I have several people comment on them as they thought I was high all the time. sometimes they are so large you can barely see the blue in them. I am extremely sensitive to light (need to wear sunglasses practically all the time when driving -even when cloudy), but taking pictures does not bother me.

I do occasionally get hypoglycemic if I have not eaten frequently enough, or after I do a workout and do not immediately drink electrolytes or some kind of sugar. I don't have autism, but there is ADHD and anxiety my side of the family. I have to take an anti-depressant and occasionally get anxiety. Never really thought about any correlation of these things. All in all, I don't think the size of pupils is a good indicator of whether someone has autism or not....

Dilated pupils often occur with PANDAS flare.

Anonymous wrote:I'm another adult who has always had very dilated pupils. I can read even with eye drops in at the opthomologist. I get the lenses of my sunglasses dyed as dark as possible because the regular shade isn't enough - highly photophobic. No autism, in myself or in the family. I am mildly hypoglycemic though.

This is me as well, in every detail (although Maui's are dark enough without dying). Lots of ADHD, mood, and anxiety in the family but no autism. I do wonder about neurological vulnerability though, with Alzheimer's and Parkinson's in my parents generation.

Here are three articles that might be of interest:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3744086/

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-3274755/Could-simple-eye-test-diagnose-autism-Pupils-children-condition-markedly-longer-narrow-penlight-test.html

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/07/120712131529.htm

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have larger than normal pupils. They appear dilated. Couldn't get lasik because of the size. I am not autistic though. Maybe he just has larger pupils?

I had a friend in h.s. whose pupils always huge. No drugs, just the natural state. She wasn't autistic either. So I guess a random gene.

Could be a gene that travels with the autism genes, maybe.

I'm another adult who has always had very dilated pupils. I can read even with eye drops in at the opthomologist. I get the lenses of my sunglasses dyed as dark as possible because the regular shade isn't enough - highly photophobic. No autism, in myself or in the family. I am mildly hypoglycemic though.

Wow, thanks for this bump. My ADHDish boy definitely had horrible behavior when hungry, yet didn't realize it. Improving his focus so he eats, including a big protein breakfast has helped a lot. Frequent snacks also. Thanks for the info about hypoglycemia.

my autistic son has huge pupils sometimes. I always ask about it to his dcotors, and no one knows what to do about it or why, they just shrug. All the pediatrician and neurologist say is that his pupils are reactive so no neurologic compromise. He does not have seizures. The days his pupils are large, are the days he seems slower to process and more in his own head. He has photo sensitivity. He is always the kid on the play ground shielding his eyes from the sun. I absolutely have to wear sunglasses outside, or I get a headache.

My child is diagnosed with two different autoimmune conditions, one of which causes seizures. When he is "flaring" his pupils are huge and after he receives medicine they shrink

With my kid the pupils and behavior were both signs of low blood sugar also called hypoglycemia. Frequent protein snacks helped.

Fascinating thread. thank you for resurrecting it.

Anonymous wrote:I have larger than normal pupils. They appear dilated. Couldn't get lasik because of the size. I am not autistic though. Maybe he just has larger pupils?

I had a friend in h.s. whose pupils always huge. No drugs, just the natural state. She wasn't autistic either. So I guess a random gene.