Abstract
This study was undertaken to study visual interaction of non-retarded infants and Down's syndrome infants in request situations. The subjects were 21 non-retarded infants and Down's syndrome infants with MAs from 7 months to 18 months. Visual interactions were analyzed from polygraph recordings of visual behaviors of mothers and infants in request situation. The frequency of four types of “visual following” behaviors through which infants and mothers reached the state of joint attention or eye to eye contact were counted. In non-retarded infants, in the case of eye to eye contact, the visual following of infants remarkably increased from 11 months, proving that ratio of initiative visual following of infants increased with age. In the case of joint action, visual followings of infants were found even in the younger group. In Down's infants, though visual followings increased with age, they were seen significantly less than in non-retarded infants being mostly initiated by mothers.
