Fostering Spontaneous Visual Attention in Children on the Autism Spectrum: A Proof-of-Concept Study Comparing Singing and Speech

Children on the autism spectrum are reported to have lower rates of social gaze as early as toddlerhood, and this pattern persists across the lifespan. Finding ways to promote more natural and spontaneous engagement in social interactions may help to boost developmental opportunities in the child's home and community settings. This proof-of-concept study hypothesized that a video of a singer would elicit more attention to the performer, particularly to her face, than a video of her reading a story, and that the child's familiarity with the material would enhance attention. Sixteen children on the autism spectrum (7-10 years old) watched 4 videos 1 min long comprising a favorite song or story, and an unfamiliar song and story. Eye movements were recorded, and three-way repeated measures ANOVAs examined the proportion of total valid visual dwell time and fixations, in each trial and each target area. For proportion of both dwell time and fixation counts, children were significantly more likely to look at the performer's face and body and less at the prop during singing than story-telling and when familiar rather than unfamiliar material was presented. These findings raise important issues for supporting children to naturally initiate looking toward a person's face. Autism Res 2018, 11: 732-737. © 2018 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Lay summary: Children on the autism spectrum may have difficulty looking at people, particularly their faces. In this study, children watched videos of someone singing or reading a story. The results show that children look more at the person if they were singing and if the story was familiar to them. Using songs and familiar stories may be a way to help children with autism to naturally engage with others.