Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 23, 2025
Comparing Eye-tracking Data of Children with High-functioning ASD, Comorbid ADHD, and of a Control Watching Social Videos
Published on: December 7, 2018
Comparative strengths and challenges on face-to-face and computer-based attention tasks in autistic and neurotypical
Lori-Ann R Sacrey1, Lonnie Zwaigenbaum1, Yomna Elshamy1
1Autism Research Centre, Glenrose Rehabilitation Hospital and Department of Pediatrics, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
Abstract:
The objectives were to compare patterns of visual attention in toddlers diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) as compared to their sex- and age-matched neurotypical (NT) peers. Participants included 23 toddlers with ASD and 19 NT toddlers (mean age: 25.52 versus 25.21 months, respectively) assessed using computerized tasks to measure sustained attention, disengaging attention, and cognitive control, as well as an in-person task to assess joint attention. Toddlers in the ASD group showed increased looking durations on the sustained attention task, as well as reduced frequencies of responding to and initiating joint attention compared to NT peers, but showed no differences on tasks of disengaging attention and cognitive control. The results suggest that toddlers with ASD have attentional strengths that may provide a foundation for building attention, communicative, and ultimately, academic skills.
