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Brief Report: Diminished Gaze Preference for Dynamic Social Interaction Scenes in Youth with Autism Spectrum Disorders

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Abstract

In this study, we present an eye-tracking paradigm, adapted from previous work with toddlers, for assessing social-interaction looking preferences in youth ages 5–17 with ASD and typically-developing controls (TDC). Videos of children playing together (Social Scenes, SS) were presented side-by-side with animated geometric shapes (GS). Participants with ASD demonstrated reduced SS preferences compared to TDC, results also represented continuously by associations between higher SS preferences and fewer social difficulties across the combined sample. Exploratory analyses identified associations between increased SS preferences and higher Vineland Daily Living Skills in ASD and suggested SS preferences in TDC females might drive ASD versus TDC between-group differences. These findings describe potentially sex-linked couplings between preferences for social information and social functioning in school-aged children.

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Acknowledgments

This study was funded by Indiana University, Funding Opportunities for Research Commercialization and Economic Success (FORCES). Special thanks for all of our research staff at Indiana University School of Medicine and at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center who assisted with administering measures and collecting data.

Author Contributions

RS conceived of the study, participated in its design and coordination, performed statistical analysis, and drafted the manuscript; EP, FS, and KB participated in the interpretation of the data and statistical analysis; LW participated in conceptualization of the study, and CE conceived the study, participated in its design and coordination, and drafted the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, 3333 Burnet Avenue, MLC 4002, Cincinnati, OH, 45229, USA

    Rebecca C. Shaffer, Ernest V. Pedapati, Katherine Bowers, Logan K. Wink & Craig A. Erickson

  2. Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA

    Frederick Shic

  3. University of Cincinnati School of Medicine, Cincinnati, OH, USA

    Kristina Gaietto

Authors
  1. Rebecca C. Shaffer
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  2. Ernest V. Pedapati
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  3. Frederick Shic
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  4. Kristina Gaietto
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  5. Katherine Bowers
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  6. Logan K. Wink
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  7. Craig A. Erickson
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Correspondence to Rebecca C. Shaffer.

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Shaffer, R.C., Pedapati, E.V., Shic, F. et al. Brief Report: Diminished Gaze Preference for Dynamic Social Interaction Scenes in Youth with Autism Spectrum Disorders. J Autism Dev Disord 47, 506–513 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-016-2975-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-016-2975-2

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