Application of gaze behavior of children with autism spectrum disorders as an early detection tool and social discipline methods

2016 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 25461566
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Pediatrics
• Research Institution: Kansai Medical University
• Principal Investigator: ISHIZAKI Yuko 関西医科大学, 医学部, 准教授 (20411556)
• Research Collaborator: HIGUCHI Takahiro 関西医科大学, 医学部, 大学院生
• Project Period (FY): 2013-04-01 – 2017-03-31
• Keywords: 自閉症スペクトラム / 視線解析 / 学校 / 小児

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) often refuse to go to school because of difficulties in learning in class. We performed gaze behavior analysis of children with ASD to understand their difficulties in the classroom. We compared eye movements of the children ASD and those with TD while they performed free viewing of two movies depicting actual classes. We defined the regions of interest (ROIs) as the teacher’s face and finger, the cartoon characters and geometric figures at which the teacher pointed, and the classroom wall that contained no objects. Children with ASD spent less gaze time on the cartoon characters pointed at by the teacher; they spent more gaze time on the wall in both classroom scenes. These results suggest that children with ASD do not follow the teacher’s instructions in class and persist in gazing at inappropriate visual areas such as walls. Thus, they may have difficulties in understanding content in class, leading to maladaptation to school.

Free Research Field

小児科