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Perception of Pointing from Biological Motion Point-Light Displays in Typically Developing Children and Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

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Abstract

We examined whether the movement involved in a pointing gesture, depicted using point-light displays, is sufficient to cue attention in typically developing children (TD) and children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) (aged 8–11 years). Using a Posner-type paradigm, a centrally located display indicated the location of a forthcoming target on 80 % of trials and the opposite location on 20 % of trials. TD children, but not children with ASD, were faster to identify a validly cued target than an invalidly cued target. A scrambled version of the point-light pointing gesture, retaining individual dot speed and direction of movement but not the configuration, produced no validity effect in either group. A video of a pointing gesture produced validity effects in both groups.

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported by an ESRC Grant (RES 00023 1148) on “Perception of Biological Motion in Autism” and by a European Commission, NEST PATHFINDER project REFCOM (012787),‘The Origins of Referential Communication.’ We gratefully acknowledge the efforts of staff and pupils at schools in London and the Resources for Autism charity who participated in the research.

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  1. Anna Remington

    Present address: Oxford University, Oxford, UK

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Developmental Science, Division of Psychology and Language Science, University College London, Chandler House, 2 Wakefield Street, London, WC1N 1PF, UK

    John Swettenham, Anna Remington, Katherine Laing, Rosemary Fletcher & Mike Coleman

  2. Department of Psychology, University of St Andrews, Westburn Lane, St Andrews, Fife, KY16 9JP, UK

    Juan-Carlos Gomez

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  1. John Swettenham
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Correspondence to John Swettenham.

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Swettenham, J., Remington, A., Laing, K. et al. Perception of Pointing from Biological Motion Point-Light Displays in Typically Developing Children and Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder. J Autism Dev Disord 43, 1437–1446 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-012-1699-1

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