Visual preference for social vs. non-social images in young children with autism spectrum disorders. An eye tracking study

Vacas, Julia; Antolí, Adoración; Sánchez-Raya, Araceli; Pérez-Dueñas, Carolina; Cuadrado, Fátima

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0252795

Cited by 22 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 64 publications

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“…One study [47] showed that children with ASD did not attend less to faces than their TD peers when they were presented with happy faces. Taken together, these results imply that differences in attention to face in children with ASD in comparison to their TD peers are subtle and context dependent [48].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 75%

Attention to Face as a Predictor of Developmental Change and Treatment Outcome in Young Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Latrèche

Kojovic

Franchini³

et al. 2021

Biomedicines

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The beneficial effect of early intervention is well described for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Response to early intervention is, however, highly heterogeneous in affected children, and there is currently only scarce information about predictors of response to intervention. Based on the hypothesis that impaired social orienting hinders the subsequent development of social communication and interactions in children with ASD, we sought to examine whether the level of social orienting modulates treatment outcome in young children with ASD. We used eye-tracking technology to measure social orienting in a group of 111 preschoolers, comprising 95 young children with ASD and 16 children with typical development, as they watched a 29 s video of a woman engaging in child-directed speech. In line with previous studies, we report that attention to face is robustly correlated with autistic symptoms and cognitive and adaptive skills at baseline. We further leverage longitudinal data in a subgroup of 81 children with ASD and show that the level of social orienting at baseline is a significant predictor of developmental gains and treatment outcome. These results pave the way for identifying subgroups of children who show a better response to early and intensive intervention, a first step toward precision medicine for children with autism.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 75%

Attention to Face as a Predictor of Developmental Change and Treatment Outcome in Young Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Latrèche

Kojovic

Franchini³

et al. 2021

Biomedicines

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“…Concerning the exploration of facial features, children with ASD in both groups gazed faster and explored the mouth and nose areas longer, while they gazed slower and explored the outside area less compared to all other facial features. Previous researches on children with ASD have reported a deficit in the exploration of faces compared to the rest of the visual scene ( Klin et al, 2003 ; Riby and Hancock, 2008 ; Vacas et al, 2021 ). Results from the present study do not necessarily contradict those findings, because the outside area was blank and did not contain items (e.g., objects, furniture, and decor) that may potentially attract children’s attention.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 96%

“…A reduced attention to faces in individuals with ASD is often reported, along with a stronger exploration of other items from the visual scene (e.g., objects, bodies, etc.) ( Klin et al, 2002 , 2003 ; Riby and Hancock, 2008 ; Howard et al, 2019 ; Vacas et al, 2021 ). Alterations of visual exploration strategies of faces in individuals with ASD are also observed.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Emotion Facial Processing in Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Pilot Study of the Impact of Service Dogs

et al. 2022

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Processing and recognizing facial expressions are key factors in human social interaction. Past research suggests that individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) present difficulties to decode facial expressions. Those difficulties are notably attributed to altered strategies in the visual scanning of expressive faces. Numerous studies have demonstrated the multiple benefits of exposure to pet dogs and service dogs on the interaction skills and psychosocial development of children with ASD. However, no study has investigated if those benefits also extend to the processing of facial expressions. The aim of this study was to investigate if having a service dog had an influence on facial expression processing skills of children with ASD. Two groups of 15 children with ASD, with and without a service dog, were compared using a facial expression recognition computer task while their ocular movements were measured using an eye-tracker. While the two groups did not differ in their accuracy and reaction time, results highlighted that children with ASD owning a service dog directed less attention toward areas that were not relevant to facial expression processing. They also displayed a more differentiated scanning of relevant facial features according to the displayed emotion (i.e., they spent more time on the mouth for joy than for anger, and vice versa for the eyes area). Results from the present study suggest that having a service dog and interacting with it on a daily basis may promote the development of specific visual exploration strategies for the processing of human faces.

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“…Several researchers have hypothesized that autism is characterized by domain-specific altered responsiveness to social rewards ( Chevallier et al, 2012 ; Kohls et al, 2012 ), while others have proposed domain-general differences in autism that are observed across reward stimuli types ( Bottini, 2018 ). While it has been reported that young autistic children show altered attentional priority (which could indicate altered motivation) for interest images and social images ( Sasson et al, 2008 ; Vacas et al, 2021 ), relatively little work has investigated affective responses to rewarding stimuli in young children. Assessing whether affective reward responsiveness varies by reward type in young children with autism, and if differences relate to intense interests, is a valuable area of future study.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Autism interest intensity in early childhood associates with executive functioning but not reward sensitivity or anxiety symptoms

Godfrey

Espenhahn

Stokoe

et al. 2021

Autism

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Several theories have been proposed to explain the presentation of intense interests in autism, including theories based on altered executive functioning, imbalanced reward sensitivity, and mitigating anxiety. These theories have yet to be examined in early childhood, yet knowledge of how intense interests emerge could provide insight into how best to manage intensity and support the many benefits of personal interests. Parents of 33 autistic and 42 non-autistic comparison children aged 3–6 years completed questionnaires to assess attention shifting and inhibitory control, responsiveness to rewards, and anxiety symptoms. Each behavior domain was examined for associations with parent-reported interest intensity. In autistic and comparison children, attention shifting was associated with interest intensity, where children with more difficulties showed more intense interests. In autistic children only, inhibitory control of attention also associated with interest intensity, where children with greater difficulties showed more intense interests. Reward and anxiety symptoms did not associate with interest intensity in either group, or across the sample. These findings suggest that, in early childhood, the presentation of intense interests is related to executive functioning regardless of diagnostic group. Helping children develop executive functioning skills may therefore be useful to assist with managing interest intensity in early childhood. Lay abstract Personal interests in autism are a source of joy, pride, and assist with the formation of social relationships. However, highly intense engagement can also interfere with other activities including activities of daily living. Theories have suggested that intense interests relate to executive functioning, reward sensitivity, and anxiety symptoms; but none of these theories have been tested in early childhood. Understanding which behavioral traits relate to intense interests in early childhood could help understand how intense interests may emerge, while also providing clues for how to manage interest intensity and best promote the many benefits of personal interests. We recruited families with autistic and non-autistic children aged 3–6 years. Parents completed questionnaires to assess children’s interest diversity and intensity, executive functioning, reward sensitivity, and anxiety symptoms. We found that for autistic and non-autistic children, greater difficulty shifting attention between activities related to more intense interests. In autistic children only, difficulty with inhibitory control of attention also related to more intense interests. However, reward sensitivity and anxiety symptoms did not relate to interest intensity. Based on these observations, assisting young children with developing executive functioning skills could help with mediating the interference of interests in daily life to ultimately promote the many benefits of personal interests.

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Visual preference for social vs. non-social images in young children with autism spectrum disorders. An eye tracking study

Cited by 22 publications

References 64 publications

Attention to Face as a Predictor of Developmental Change and Treatment Outcome in Young Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Attention to Face as a Predictor of Developmental Change and Treatment Outcome in Young Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Emotion Facial Processing in Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Pilot Study of the Impact of Service Dogs

Autism interest intensity in early childhood associates with executive functioning but not reward sensitivity or anxiety symptoms

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