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Dynamic Eye Tracking as a Predictor and Outcome Measure of Social Skills Intervention in Adolescents and Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder

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Abstract

To evaluate an eye tracking task as a predictor and outcome measure of treatment response for autism spectrum disorder (ASD) social skills interventions, adolescents and young adults with ASD completed the eye tracking task before, immediately after, and two months after completing Social Cognition and Interaction Training for Autism (SCIT-A). The study compared SCIT-A participants (n = 20) to participants with ASD who received treatment as usual (TAU; n = 21). Overall, increased visual attention to faces and background objects and decreased attention to hands playing with toys at baseline were associated with improved social functioning immediately following intervention, suggesting this eye tracking task may reliably predict ASD social intervention outcomes.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank the families who participated in this research. Support for this project was provided by the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS), National Institutes of Health, through Grant Award Number 2KR631405. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the NIH. GSD was supported by U54 HD079124 and MH110933. JLK was supported by T32-HD40127. Data analytic support was provided by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Odum Institute.

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Author notes

  1. Rachel K. Greene

    Present address: Institute on Development and Disability, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR, USA

  2. Miranda Sullivan

    Present address: School of Medicine, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, USA

  3. Maya G. Mosner

    Present address: Center for Autism Research, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA

  4. Ashley A. Pallathra

    Present address: Department of Psychology, The Catholic University of America, Washington, DC, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA

    Rachel K. Greene, Maya G. Mosner & David L. Penn

  2. Center for Autism Research, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA

    Julia Parish-Morris & Robert T. Schultz

  3. Carolina Institute for Developmental Disabilities, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, NC, USA

    Miranda Sullivan, Jessica L. Kinard & Gabriel S. Dichter

  4. Division of Speech and Hearing Sciences, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA

    Jessica L. Kinard

  5. TEACCH Autism Program, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, NC, USA

    Lauren M. Turner-Brown

  6. The Odum Institute, The University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA

    Christopher A. Wiesen

  7. Center for Neurobiology and Behavior, Department of Psychiatry, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA

    Ashley A. Pallathra & Edward S. Brodkin

  8. Department of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, NC, USA

    Gabriel S. Dichter

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  1. Rachel K. Greene
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Correspondence to Gabriel S. Dichter.

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Greene, R.K., Parish-Morris, J., Sullivan, M. et al. Dynamic Eye Tracking as a Predictor and Outcome Measure of Social Skills Intervention in Adolescents and Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder. J Autism Dev Disord 51, 1173–1187 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-020-04594-1

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