Advisor Information
Shari DeVeney
Presentation Type
Poster
Start Date
1-3-2019 9:00 AM
End Date
1-3-2019 10:15 AM
Abstract
Although no single etiology has been identified for Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD), two infant populations have emerged as particularly high risk: younger siblings of children diagnosed with ASD and infants born prematurely with low birth weight. A key characteristic differentiating high-risk infants from low-risk peers is early eye gaze fixation behaviors. Early gaze fixation behavior is thought to be predictive of communication and language skills. Consequently, identifying differences in early eye gaze behaviors could lead to early intervention services tailored specifically on counteracting early social withdrawal behaviors. Though few studies have compared eye-gaze patterns of these two high-risk infant groups, knowledge of differences between them could inform early interventionists’ service provision approach. The aim of the present exploratory study was to compare eye gaze fixation behaviors across two high-risk groups. The three participants were drawn from a larger pool of participants involved in the Early Diagnostic Signs of Autism study. One participant was a younger sibling of a child diagnosed with ASD, and two were born prematurely with low birth weight. Data were collected using wearable eye gaze technology that captured the infants’ eye movements and his/her visual surroundings. Infants were shown three 60-second silent videos containing social and nonsocial static visual stimuli. Eye-gaze behaviors were analyzed to distinguish where the infants’ pupil was directed during viewing and measured according to time spent fixated on social and non-social stimuli. They were further categorized as two dimensional (static social, status nonsocial) and three dimensional (dynamic social, dynamic nonsocial). Overall, the eye-gaze patterns observed for social and nonsocial stimuli, regardless of format, were similar across two participants (one from each high-risk group) and dissimilar for one participant born prematurely with low birth weight. Between the two similar infants, the infant with an older sibling spent more time looking at the screen (static), and the premature infant spent more time looking around the environment (dynamic). Findings indicate overall differences in eye-gaze behaviors across participants may reflect factors beyond high-risk group status. However, given the present study is a small exploratory study, differences in static and dynamic fixations warrant further investigation.
Early communicative characteristics across samples from two infant populations at-risk for autism
Although no single etiology has been identified for Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD), two infant populations have emerged as particularly high risk: younger siblings of children diagnosed with ASD and infants born prematurely with low birth weight. A key characteristic differentiating high-risk infants from low-risk peers is early eye gaze fixation behaviors. Early gaze fixation behavior is thought to be predictive of communication and language skills. Consequently, identifying differences in early eye gaze behaviors could lead to early intervention services tailored specifically on counteracting early social withdrawal behaviors. Though few studies have compared eye-gaze patterns of these two high-risk infant groups, knowledge of differences between them could inform early interventionists’ service provision approach. The aim of the present exploratory study was to compare eye gaze fixation behaviors across two high-risk groups. The three participants were drawn from a larger pool of participants involved in the Early Diagnostic Signs of Autism study. One participant was a younger sibling of a child diagnosed with ASD, and two were born prematurely with low birth weight. Data were collected using wearable eye gaze technology that captured the infants’ eye movements and his/her visual surroundings. Infants were shown three 60-second silent videos containing social and nonsocial static visual stimuli. Eye-gaze behaviors were analyzed to distinguish where the infants’ pupil was directed during viewing and measured according to time spent fixated on social and non-social stimuli. They were further categorized as two dimensional (static social, status nonsocial) and three dimensional (dynamic social, dynamic nonsocial). Overall, the eye-gaze patterns observed for social and nonsocial stimuli, regardless of format, were similar across two participants (one from each high-risk group) and dissimilar for one participant born prematurely with low birth weight. Between the two similar infants, the infant with an older sibling spent more time looking at the screen (static), and the premature infant spent more time looking around the environment (dynamic). Findings indicate overall differences in eye-gaze behaviors across participants may reflect factors beyond high-risk group status. However, given the present study is a small exploratory study, differences in static and dynamic fixations warrant further investigation.