Researchers at the UC Davis M.I.N.D. Institute have found that children with autism spectrum disorders spend less time looking at the faces of people who are modeling new skills than did typically developing children. As a result, the impaired imitation leads to additional impairments in sharing emotions, pretend play, pragmatic communication and understanding the emotional states of others. The study, led by postdoctoral researcher Giacomo Vivanti, was published in the Journal of Experimental Child Psychology.