IJERPH, Vol. 21, Pages 421: Attention toward Social and Non-Social Stimuli in Preschool Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Paired Preference Eye-Tracking Study

IJERPH, Vol. 21, Pages 421: Attention toward Social and Non-Social Stimuli in Preschool Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Paired Preference Eye-Tracking Study International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health doi: 10.3390/ijerph21040421 Authors: Sara Congiu Giuseppe Doneddu Roberta Fadda Different dimensions of visual attention to social (human faces) and non-social stimuli (objects) were assessed in 19 preschool children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and 19 typically developing (TD) age, gender, and IQ-matched controls through an original paired preference eye-tracking paradigm. The present study found a significantly reduced attentional bias toward human faces in children with ASD compared to TD controls. The analysis of the total fixation time showed a significantly reduced preference for faces in children with ASD compared to TD children. Moreover, while TD children showed a significant preference for the face over the object, children in the ASD group observed the two paired pictures for a similar amount of time, thus showing no preference. Besides, children with ASD paid significantly more sustained attention to the objects than TD children. Children in the TD group paid greater sustained attention to the faces over the objects, while children in the ASD group did not differentiate between objects and faces. Finally, an age effect was found in ASD, as younger children in the group tended to prefer objects and to show more sustai...
Source: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health - Category: Environmental Health Authors: Tags: Article Source Type: research