Dynamic Eye Tracking as a Predictor and Outcome Measure of Social Skills Intervention in Adolescents and Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder.
Rachel K Greene, Julia Parish-Morris, Miranda Sullivan and 9 others
PMID 32656738WHAT IT FOUND
Eye tracking metrics predicted who improved in social skills therapy, but did not change over time to show treatment effects.
Higher attention to faces and background objects predicted better outcomes, while attention to hands predicted poorer outcomes.
Key findings
01Increased visual attention to faces and background objects at baseline predicted improved social communication and awareness following the intervention, while increased attention to hands predicted less improvement.
02The eye tracking social prioritization score did not significantly change from baseline to post-treatment or follow-up, meaning it failed to detect the treatment effect seen in parent-reported social impairment scores.
03Baseline eye tracking metrics did not correlate with standard measures of social functioning or cognition, suggesting they measure a distinct aspect of social attention.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
Groups were not randomly assigned, which introduces selection bias. The sample size was small (n=20 in the treatment group). The eye tracking task failed to detect changes in social attention over time, limiting its use as an outcome measure. Participants and families were not blinded to treatment status, which may have influenced parent-reported SRS-2 scores. Groups differed significantly in IQ and medication use at baseline.
Declared interests
The study was conducted at the Carolina Institute for Developmental Disabilities. No specific funding sources or commercial conflicts of interest were declared in the provided text.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume that changes in eye tracking metrics can be used to monitor a patient's progress during social skills therapy. The study found that while baseline gaze patterns predicted who would improve, the eye tracking scores themselves did not change significantly over the course of treatment, even when parent-reported social impairment improved.