The eye-contact hack (bridge of the nose)
Look at the bridge of the person's nose — they read it as eye contact though it isn't. Remember the rule 'either my attention or my eye contact, not both', because forced eye contact removes the ability to listen.
This page isn't typically flagged for the selected profile — shown because you opened it directly.
Forced eye contact consumes the cognitive resources needed for listening — for many neurodivergent people the rule is ‘either my full attention or my eye contact, not both’. A cheap trick to pass the eye-contact ‘test’ without that cost: look at the bridge of the person’s nose. From their side it looks like you’re meeting their eyes, while you don’t burn attention on maintaining real eye contact. It lets you appear engaged and actually listen at the same time.
Helps with
Resources & links
1 source
What the research says
Scientific grade verified against the literature. No entries = no direct studies (graded from mechanism/experience).
- Gaze aversion as a cognitive load management strategy in autism spectrum disorder and Williams syndromecohort study · 2012
- Eye Contact Modulates Cognitive Processing Differently in Children With Autismcohort study · 2015
- Influence of autistic traits and communication role on eye contact behavior during face-to-face interactioncohort study · 2024
- The consequences of social camouflaging in autistic adults: A systematic reviewreview · 2025