Comparing virtual vs real faces expressing emotions in children with autism: An eye-tracking study

AbstractDifficulties in processing emotional facial expressions is considered a central characteristic of children with autism spectrum condition (ASC). In addition, there is a growing interest in the use of virtual avatars capable of expressing emotions as an intervention aimed at improving the social skills of these individuals. One potential use of avatars is that they could enhance facial recognition and guide attention. However, this aspect needs further investigation. The aim of our study is to assess differences in eye gaze processes in children with ASC when they see avatar faces expressing emotions compared to real faces. Eye-tracking methodology was used to compare the performance of children with ASC between avatar and real faces. A repeated-measures general linear model was adopted to understand which characteristics of the stimuli could influence the stimuli’s fixation times. Survival analysis was performed to understand differences in exploration behaviour between avatar and real faces. Differences between emotion recognition accuracy and the number of fixations were evaluated through a paired t-test. Our results confirm that children with autism have higher capacities to process and recognize emotions when these are presented by avatar faces. Children with autism are more attracted to the mouth or the eyes depending on the stimulus type (avatar or real) and the emotion expressed by the stimulus. Also, they are more attracted to avatar faces expressing negative emotions (anger and sadness), and to real faces expressing surprise. Differences were not found regarding happiness. Finally, they show a higher degree of exploration of avatar faces. All these elements, such as interest in the avatar and reduced attention to the eyes, can offer important elements in planning an efficient intervention.

Download Full-text

Do Autistic Symptoms Persist Across Time? Evidence of Substantial Change in Symptomatology Over a 3-year Period in Cognitively Able Children With Autism

American Journal on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities ◽

10.1352/1944-7558-117.2.156 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 117 (2) ◽

pp. 156-166 ◽

Cited By ~ 24

Author(s):

Elizabeth Pellicano

Keyword(s):

Social Communication ◽

Developmental Trajectories ◽

Significant Proportion ◽

Children With Autism ◽

Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule ◽

Autism Spectrum ◽

Repetitive Behaviors ◽

The Social ◽

Spectrum Condition ◽

Autistic Symptoms

Abstract This study investigated the extent and nature of changes in symptomatology in cognitively able children with autism over a 3-year period. Thirty-seven children diagnosed with an autism spectrum condition involved in an earlier study (M age = 5 years, 7 months) were followed and reassessed 3 years later (M age = 8 years, 4 months). Scores on the Social Communication Questionnaire (SCQ; M. Rutter, A. Bailey, & C. Lord, 2003) decreased significantly over time in all symptom domains but especially in the social domain, and correlational findings suggested the presence of 2 distinct developmental trajectories—social communication and repetitive behaviors—that interact across time. Furthermore, 7 children (19% of sample) made substantial changes to the extent that they failed to meet criteria on diagnostic instruments (the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule—Generic [ADOS-G; C. Lord, M. Rutter, P. C. DiLavore, & S. Risi, 1999] and the SCQ) 3 years later. Children showing diagnostic discontinuity were distinguishable from those who fulfilled ADOS-G criteria only in terms of the age at which they began receiving intervention. The presence of a significant proportion of children showing considerable progress over the 3-year period challenges assumptions of diagnostic continuity and highlights the potential long-term benefits of early intervention.

Download Full-text

Visual scanning preferences in low birth weight preterm infants

Trends in Psychiatry and Psychotherapy ◽

10.1590/2237-6089-2018-0083 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 41 (4) ◽

pp. 334-339

Author(s):

Vivian R. G. Lederman ◽

Ana L. Goulart ◽

Juliana G. Negrão ◽

Deyse H. F. da Cunha ◽

Amélia M. N. dos Santos ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Eye Tracking ◽

Preterm Infants ◽

Eye Gaze ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Autism Spectrum ◽

Fixation Time ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

The Social ◽

Preterm Babies ◽

Social Images

Abstract Introduction Few studies have used eye tracking as a screening tool for autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in preterm infants. Objectives To evaluate fixation time on social and non-social figures and percentage of preterm babies who gazed at the images. Methods This was a cross-sectional study of 31 preterm infants born weighing ≤ 2,000 g in which eye gaze was evaluated at 6 months of corrected age. Six boards with social and non-social figures were projected on a computer screen, successively, evaluating time and percentage of preterm babies who gazed at each board. The Modified Checklist for Autism in Toddlers (M-CHAT) was answered at 18 months of corrected age. Results Preterm infants showed longer visual fixation time on social figures compared with non-social images, regardless of the position of the social figure on the board. Similar percentages of preterm infants gazed either at social or non-social figures, at social figures with a direct or an indirect look, and at the eyes or mouth of the social figures. No preterm infant screened positive on the M-CHAT. Conclusion At 6 months of corrected age, preterm infants show the ability to gaze in an eye-tracking test, with preference for social figures, suggesting that this tool could be useful as another screening instrument for ASD.

Download Full-text

A deficit in using prosodic cues to understand communicative intentions by children with autism spectrum disorders: An eye-tracking study

First Language ◽

10.1177/0142723719885270 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 40 (1) ◽

pp. 41-63

Author(s):

Peng Zhou ◽

Weiyi Ma ◽

Likan Zhan

Keyword(s):

Autism Spectrum Disorders ◽

Preschool Children ◽

Eye Tracking ◽

Eye Gaze ◽

Children With Autism ◽

Autism Spectrum ◽

Intended Meaning ◽

Prosodic Cues ◽

Spectrum Disorders ◽

Mean Length Of Utterance

The present study investigated whether Mandarin-speaking preschool children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) were able to use prosodic cues to understand others’ communicative intentions. Using the visual world eye-tracking paradigm, the study found that unlike typically developing (TD) 4-year-olds, both 4-year-olds with ASD and 5-year-olds with ASD exhibited an eye gaze pattern that reflected their inability to use prosodic cues to infer the intended meaning of the speaker. Their performance was relatively independent of their verbal IQ and mean length of utterance. In addition, the findings also show that there was no development in this ability from 4 years of age to 5 years of age. The findings indicate that Mandarin-speaking preschool children with ASD exhibit a deficit in using prosodic cues to understand the communicative intentions of the speaker, and this ability might be inherently impaired in ASD.

Download Full-text

The interactional use of eye-gaze in children with autism spectrum disorders

Interaction Studies ◽

10.1075/is.15.2.12kor ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 15 (2) ◽

pp. 233-259 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Terhi Korkiakangas ◽

John Rae

Keyword(s):

Conversation Analysis ◽

Quantitative Methods ◽

Eye Gaze ◽

Children With Autism ◽

Autism Spectrum ◽

Interactional Competence ◽

Video Recordings ◽

The Social ◽

Spectrum Disorders ◽

Social Use

The well-known impairments in the social use of eye-gaze by children with autism have been chiefly explored through experimental methods. The present study aims to contribute to the naturalistic analysis of social eye-gaze by applying Conversation Analysis to video recordings of three Finnish children with a diagnosis of autism, each interacting with familiar others in ordinary settings (total 6 hours). The analysis identifies two interactional environments where some children with autism show eye-gaze related competence with respect to gazing at their co-participants: these are when the child carries out an initiating action or a responsive action. We discuss how this qualitative analysis of interactional structure could be extended using quantitative methods and eye-tracking technology in order to develop a better understanding of the disorder. Keywords: Autism; eye-gaze; conversation analysis; social interaction; interactional competence

Download Full-text

Using the humanoid robot Kaspar in a Greek school environment to support children with Autism Spectrum Condition

Paladyn Journal of Behavioral Robotics ◽

10.1515/pjbr-2019-0021 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 10 (1) ◽

pp. 298-317

Author(s):

Efstathia Karakosta ◽

Kerstin Dautenhahn ◽

Dag Sverre Syrdal ◽

Luke Jai Wood ◽

Ben Robins

Keyword(s):

School Environment ◽

Humanoid Robot ◽

Children With Autism ◽

Autism Spectrum ◽

Autism Spectrum Condition ◽

Classroom Activities ◽

The Social ◽

Spectrum Condition ◽

The Uk ◽

The Impact

AbstractPrevious studies conducted with the humanoid robot Kaspar in the UK have yielded many encouraging results. This paper examines the influence of conducting play sessions with Kaspar on the social and communication skills of children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Condition (ASC) and suggests possible ways for using the robot as a (therapeutic) tool in a Greek school for children with special needs. Over a period of 10 weeks 7 children took part in a total of 111 individual play sessions with the Kaspar robot. Each child participated in between 12 and 18 sessions with the robot. The results from this study indicate that the play sessions with Kaspar appear to have positively influenced the behaviours of some of the children in specific domains such as communication and interaction, prompted speech, unprompted imitation and focus/attention. Furthermore, the children’s teachers expressed positive views regarding the impact of the play sessions on the children and offered interesting suggestions about the ways in which the robot could potentially be used in everyday teaching tasks and were eager to obtain a Kaspar for their classroom activities.

Download Full-text

The Gestures in 2–4-Year-Old Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder

Frontiers in Psychology ◽

10.3389/fpsyg.2021.604542 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 ◽

Author(s):

QianYing Ye ◽

LinRu Liu ◽

ShaoLi Lv ◽

SanMei Cheng ◽

HuiLin Zhu ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽

Adaptive Behavior ◽

Relative Frequency ◽

Eye Gaze ◽

Children With Autism ◽

Autism Spectrum ◽

Assessment System ◽

Spectrum Disorder ◽

Social Ability ◽

The Social

Deficits in gestures act as early signs of impairment in social interaction (SI) and communication in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). However, the pieces of literature on atypical gesture patterns in ASD children are contradictory. This investigation aimed to explore the atypical gesture pattern of ASD children from the dimensions of quantity, communicative function, and integration ability; and its relationship with social ability and adaptive behavior. We used a semi-structured interactive play to evaluate gestures of 33 ASD children (24–48 months old) and 24 typically developing (TD) children (12–36 months old). And we evaluated the social ability, adaptive behavior, and productive language of ASD and TD children by using the Adaptive Behavior Assessment System version II (ABAS-II) and Chinese Communication Development Inventory (CCDI). No matter the total score of CCDI was corrected or not, the relative frequency of total gestures, behavior regulation (BR) gestures, SI gestures, and joint attention (JA) gestures of ASD children were lower than that of TD children, as well as the proportion of JA gestures. However, there was no significant group difference in the proportion of BR and SI gestures. Before adjusting for the total score of CCDI, the relative frequency of gestures without vocalization/verbalization integration and vocalization/verbalization-integrated gestures in ASD children was lower than that in TD children. However, after matching the total score of CCDI, only the relative frequency of gestures without vocalization/verbalization integration was lower. Regardless of the fact that the total score of CCDI was corrected or not, the relative frequency and the proportion of eye-gaze-integrated gestures in ASD children were lower than that in TD children. And the proportion of gestures without eye-gaze integration in ASD children was higher than that in TD children. For ASD children, the social skills score in ABAS-II was positively correlated with the relative frequency of SI gesture and eye-gaze-integrated gestures; the total score of ABAS-II was positively correlated with the relative frequency of total gestures and eye-gaze-integrated gestures. In conclusion, ASD children produce fewer gestures and have deficits in JA gestures. The deficiency of integrating eye gaze and gesture is the core deficit of ASD children’s gesture communication. Relatively, ASD children might be capable of integrating vocalization/verbalization into gestures. SI gestures and the ability to integrate gesture and eye gaze are related to social ability. The quantity of gestures and the ability to integrate gesture with eye gaze are related to adaptive behavior.Clinical Trial Registration:www.ClinicalTrials.gov, identifier ChiCTR1800019679.

Download Full-text