Development and feasibility of a gaze-contingent eye-tracking battery for joint attention in autism

Eye tracking has emerged as a powerful tool for advancing autism research, including diagnostics and intervention. However, there remains a notable gap in its application for evaluating comprehensive joint attention (JA) skills in young children with autism. Current studies have predominantly focused on the responding to joint attention (RJA) construct, with limited attention to the initiating joint attention (IJA) construct. The two functions of IJA—to request (protoimperative) and to comment or reference (protodeclarative)—were also often not clearly distinguished in research examining the IJA constructs. Moreover, despite the inherently interactive nature of JA, there has been limited use of gaze-contingent paradigms to study JA in this population. To address the gap, the present study sought to develop a novel gaze-contingent eye-tracking battery targeting three JA skills developmentally appropriate for early school-aged children: RJA, IJA to request, and IJA to comment or reference. Subsequently, the study sought to test the feasibility of the developed battery with young adults to ensure the technical feasibility and functionality of the gaze-contingent tasks and to explore its clinical relevance prior to deploying it to younger population. A gaze-contingent eye-tracking battery comprising a total of 32 JA tasks was developed. Results indicated associations between RJA measures and autism traits, as well as between IJA to comment/reference measures and autism traits, but not with IJA to request measures. Implications for research are discussed.

Name thesis:degree_name

Ph.D.

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Special Education

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2024

Author dc:creator

• Yoon, Christy D.

Contributors dc:contributor

• Shic, Frederick
• Meadan-Kaplansky, Hedda
• Christianson, Kiel
• Xia, Yan

• Autism
• Eye Tracking
• Gaze-contingent
• Joint Attention

Statement dc:rights

• © 2024 Christy D. Yoon All rights reserved

Language dc:language

en, eng

Handle dc:identifier

https://hdl.handle.net/2142/125563

OAI record oai:identifier

https://www.ideals.illinois.edu/oai-pmh?verb=GetRecord&metadataPrefix=etdms&identifier=oai%3Awww.ideals.illinois.edu%3A2142%2F125563