Measuring gaze of children with autism spectrum disorders in naturalistic interactions

Author

Noris, Basilio ; Barker, Mandy ; Nadel, Jacqueline ; Hentsch, François ; Ansermet, François ; Billard, Aude

Author_Institution

Learning Algorithms & Syst. Lab., Ecole Polytech. Fdrale de Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland

fYear

2011

fDate

Aug. 30 2011-Sept. 3 2011

Firstpage

5356

Lastpage

5359

Abstract

In this paper, we report on a study on gaze behavior by children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) during a dyadic interaction in a naturalistic environment. Twelve children with ASD were contrasted to twelve typically developing (TD) children, in a semi-structured interaction with a selection of items from the Early Social Communication Scale (ESCS). We used the WearCam, a novel head-mounted eye-tracker designed for children, to obtain gaze information across the broad field of view from the viewpoint of the child. Children with ASD looked downwards more often, and explored their lateral field of view more extensively compared to TD children. We discuss a number of hypotheses in support of these observations.

Keywords

medical disorders; paediatrics; ASD; WearCam; autism spectrum disorders; dyadic interaction; gaze behavior; gaze information; head-mounted eye-tracker; naturalistic environment; naturalistic interaction; Autism; Calibration; Cameras; Dispersion; Mirrors; Variable speed drives; Visualization; Attention; Child; Child Development Disorders, Pervasive; Child, Preschool; Equipment Design; Equipment Failure Analysis; Female; Fixation, Ocular; Humans; Interpersonal Relations; Male; Monitoring, Ambulatory;

fLanguage

English

Publisher

ieee

Conference_Titel

Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society, EMBC, 2011 Annual International Conference of the IEEE

Conference_Location

Boston, MA

ISSN

1557-170X

Print_ISBN

978-1-4244-4121-1

Electronic_ISBN

1557-170X

Type

conf

DOI

10.1109/IEMBS.2011.6091325

Filename

6091325