Children With Autism and Social Interaction Processing

Characteristics of Gaze Behavior in Social Interaction Processing of Children With Autism

Attention allocation in ASD vs. TD children viewing social/non-social interactions by adult/child models, and the dynamics of social attention.

Participants: ASD group: 30 children; TD group: 29 children; age- and sex-matched.

Apparatus: Non-invasive eye tracker (Tobii Pro Spectrum). Stimuli: Eight 60-second videos (4 with child models, 4 with adult models). Questionnaires/Assessments: SRS, AQ, SCQ, ADOS-2, PPVT. Experimental design: A 2 (group: TD, ASD) × 2 (model type: adult, child) × 2 (context: interactive, non-interactive) × 2 (phase: baseline, test) mixed design.

Task: Free viewing of eight videos presented in random order.

Inclusion Criteria:

- For ASD group: confirmed clinical diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder(DSM-5/ADOS-2) For TD group：TD children without any developmental or neurological disorders Both groups：Normal or corrected-to-normal vision，no color vision deficiencies，and legal guardian provided written informed consent

Exclusion Criteria:

- TD group: meet the study's group-specific screening cutoffs on SRS, SCQ or AQ ASD group：Failure to meet the study's group-specific screening cutoffs on ADOS-2 Both groups：Known genetic syndromes，significant hearing loss or uncorrectable visual impairment