Visual Biases and Attentional Inflexibilities Differentiate Those at Elevated Likelihood of Autism: An Eye-Tracking Study

Date Presented 03/28/20

This study examined attentional inflexibility for children at elevated likelihood (EL) for autism spectrum disorder (ASD) through use of eye tracking. The results indicate that the EL-ASD group had significantly fewer attention shifts from an area of interest to the rest of the screen. While we only assessed a static activity, we believe attentional inflexibilities are also present during occupational engagement, which has implications for OT practice. OT strategies to address this will also be discussed.

Primary Author and Speaker: Stephanie Bristol

Additional Authors and Speakers: Susan Agostine

Contributing Authors: Aaron Dallman, Clare Harrop, Elizabeth Crais, Grace Baranek, Linda Watson