Res Dev Disabil. 2023 Dec 6;144:104642. doi: 10.1016/j.ridd.2023.104642. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Understanding and predicting others’ behavior in a dynamic and rapidly changing world is a fundamental aspect of social interactions. However, it remains unclear as to whether children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) could understand and predict goal-directed social actions.

AIMS: To investigate the understanding of give-and-take interactions in children with ASD with the use of eye tracking.

METHODS AND PROCEDURES: Experiment 1 and 2 investigated the understanding of giving and taking respectively in 5-to 8-year-old Chinese children with ASD and typically developing children by using the eye-tracking technology.

OUTCOMES AND RESULTS: We found that children with ASD could predict actions, but they were less proficient in processing give-and-take interactions. Moreover, children with ASD showed impaired understanding of giving but not taking.

CONCLUSIONS: These results indicate that the basic mechanisms of action prediction are intact in children with ASD whereas there may be deficits in the top-down social processing of the giving gesture.

PMID:38061287 | DOI:10.1016/j.ridd.2023.104642