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Social Attention, Joint Attention and Sustained Attention in Autism Spectrum Disorder and Williams Syndrome: Convergences and Divergences

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Abstract

There is limited knowledge on shared and syndrome-specific attentional profiles in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and Williams syndrome (WS). Using eye-tracking, we examined attentional profiles of 35 preschoolers with ASD, 22 preschoolers with WS and 20 typically developing children across social and non-social dimensions of attention. Children with ASD and those with WS presented with overlapping deficits in spontaneous visual engagement with the target of others’ attention and in sustained attention. Children with ASD showed syndrome-specific abnormalities in monitoring and following a person’s referential gaze, as well as a lack of preferential attention to social stimuli. Children with ASD and WS present with shared as well as syndrome-specific abnormalities across social and non-social dimensions of attention.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to acknowledge the children and parents involved in the study, the Victorian Autism Specific Early Learning and Care Centre Team who facilitated recruitment and testing of the ASD sample, the Williams Syndrome Family Support Group (Victoria) and the Williams Syndrome Association Australia. We would also like to acknowledge the valuable contribution of A/Prof Melanie Porter, Anna Atkinson, Jessica Reeve, Melanie Muniandy, Simone Griffith, Jacqueline Maya and Cathriona Clarke.

Author Contributions

GV was supported by the Australian Government Department of Social Services.DH was supported by a Discovery Early Career Researcher Award (DE160100042).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. A.J. Drexel Autism Institute, Drexel University, 3020 Market Street, Suite 560, Philadelphia, PA, 19104-3734, USA

    Giacomo Vivanti

  2. Olga Tennison Autism Research Centre, School of Psychology and Public Health, La Trobe University, Melbourne, VIC, 3086, Australia

    Giacomo Vivanti, Peter A. J. Fanning & Cheryl Dissanayake

  3. Developmental Neuromotor and Cognition Laboratory, La Trobe University, Melbourne, VIC, 3086, Australia

    Darren R. Hocking

  4. School of Allied Health, Griffith University, Southport, QLD, 4222, Australia

    Stephanie Sievers

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  1. Giacomo Vivanti
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  2. Peter A. J. Fanning
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  4. Stephanie Sievers
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Correspondence to Giacomo Vivanti.

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Approval for this research was granted by the La Trobe University Human Ethics Committee and Macquarie University Ethics Committee.

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Vivanti, G., Fanning, P.A.J., Hocking, D.R. et al. Social Attention, Joint Attention and Sustained Attention in Autism Spectrum Disorder and Williams Syndrome: Convergences and Divergences. J Autism Dev Disord 47, 1866–1877 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-017-3106-4

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