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Updated: Apr 3, 2026

Eye Tracking Young Children with Autism
Published on: March 27, 2012
Brief Report: Imitation of Object-Directed Acts in Young Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders
Anna Gonsiorowski1, Rebecca A Williamson2, Diana L Robins2,3
1Department of Psychology, Georgia State University, P. O. Box 5010, Atlanta, GA, 30302, USA. agonsiorowski1@student.gsu.edu.
Abstract:
Children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) imitate less than typically developing (TD) children; however, the specific features and causes of this deficit are still unclear. The current study investigates the role of joint engagement, specifically children's visual attention to demonstrations, in an object-directed imitation task. This sample was recruited from an early ASD screening study, which allows for an examination of these behaviors prior to formal diagnosis and ASD-specific intervention. Children with ASD imitated less than TD children; children with other developmental delays showed no significant difference from the two other screen-positive groups. Additionally, only the ASD group showed decreased visual attention, suggesting that early visual attention plays a role in the social learning of children with ASD.
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