Gaze behavior and affect at 6 months: predicting clinical outcomes and language development in typically developing infants and infants at risk for autism

Abstract

This paper presents follow-up longitudinal data to research that previously suggested the possibility of abnormal gaze behavior marked by decreased eye contact in a subgroup of 6-month-old infants at risk for autism (Merin et al., 2007). Using eye-tracking data and behavioral data recorded during a live mother-infant interaction involving the still-face procedure, the predictive utility of gaze behavior and affective behaviors at 6 months was examined using diagnostic outcome data obtained longitudinally over the following 18 months. Results revealed that none of the infants previously identified as showing lower rates of eye-contact had any signs of autism at outcome. In contrast, three infants who were diagnosed with autism demonstrated consistent gaze to the eye region and typical affective responses at 6 months. Individual differences in face scanning and affective responsivity during the live interaction were not related to any continuous measures of symptom frequency or symptom severity. In contrast, results of growth curve models for language development revealed significant relationships between face scanning and expressive language. Greater amounts of fixation to the mother’s mouth during live interaction predicted higher levels of expressive language at outcome and greater rates of growth. These findings suggest that although gaze behavior at 6 months may not provide early markers for autism as initially conceived, gaze to the mouth in particular may be useful in predicting individual differences in language development.

Early Identification of Autism Spectrum Disorder: Recommendations for Practice and Research

“…Table 2 summarizes studies in which emerging markers over the first 12 months of life were assessed. 22,32,38,45,46,48,49,[71][72][73][74][75][76][77][78] Some researchers reported no behavioral differences at the age of 6 months in social communication behaviors 22 or in language or motor development 49,66 between infants who were later diagnosed with ASD and those with a later diagnosis of typical development. Other studies, which have also included outcome measures, suggest that there may be differences during the age range of 6 to 12 months in social attention (social gaze or orienting to name being called), 32,74 atypical sensory behaviors, 32 repetitive or otherwise atypical motor behaviors, and nonverbal communication (differences in gesture use).…”

Identifying Autism in a Brief Observation

“…Much attention has been drawn to atypical behaviors associated with autism. 6,7,[22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31] However, children who have autism do not engage in unusual behavior exclusively, and at the individual level, even experienced clinicians did not always agree on atypicality of behavior. Likewise, typical development is characterized by occasional periods of repetitive play, rigidity, and failure to respond.…”

Preterm birth is associated with atypical social orienting in infancy detected using eye tracking

“…In the developmental trajectory of social cognition visual attention is given to faces very soon after birth, with specific attention paid to the eye region; and later in infancy at around 6-9 months a preference for looking at faces within multiple object arrays or animated scenes develops (Johnson, Dziurawiec, Ellis, & Morton, 1991;Farroni, Csibra, Simion, & Johnson, 2002;Gliga, Elsabbagh, Andravizou, & Johnson, 2009;Frank, Vul, & Johnson, 2009); for review see . This trajectory is altered from 2 to 12 months in children who go on to receive a diagnosis of ASD, which suggests that gaze behaviour may be one of the earliest markers of atypical social cognition (Young, Merin, Rogers, & Ozonoff, 2009;Ozonoff et al, 2010;Chawarska, Macari, & Shic, 2012;Jones & Klin, 2013;Chawarska, Macari, & Shic, 2013;Wass et al, 2015).…”