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ERIC Number: EJ1460749
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2025-Mar
Pages: 19
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0162-3257
EISSN: EISSN-1573-3432
Available Date: 2024-02-24
Correlation between Gaze Behaviors and Social Communication Skills of Young Autistic Children: A Meta-Analysis of Eye-Tracking Studies
Christy D. Yoon1; Yan Xia2; Adriana Kaori Terol1; Hedda Meadan1; James D. Lee3
Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, v55 n3 p843-861 2025
This meta-analysis examined correlations between eye-tracking measures of gaze behaviors manifested during dynamic salient social stimuli and behavioral assessment measures of social communication skills of young autistic children. We employed a multilevel model with random effects to perform three separate meta-analyses for correlation between social communication skills and (a) all gaze behaviors, (b) gaze duration, and (c) gaze transition. Subsequently, we performed meta-regression to assess the role of four moderators, including age, continuum of naturalness of stimuli, gaze metric, and area of interest, on correlation effect sizes that were heterogeneous at the population level. A total of 111 correlation coefficients from 17 studies for 1132 young autistic children or children with high-likelihood for autism (M[subscript age range] = 6-95 months) were included in this meta-analysis. The correlation effect sizes for all three meta-analyses were significant, supporting the relation between improved gaze behaviors and better social communication skills. In addition, age, gaze metric, and area of interest were significant moderators. This suggests the importance of identifying meaningful gaze behaviors related to social communication skills and the increasingly influential role of gaze behaviors in shaping social communication skills as young autistic children progress through the early childhood stage. The continuum of naturalness of stimuli, however, was revealed to trend towards having a significant moderating effect. Lastly, it is important to note the evidence of potential publication bias. Our findings are discussed in the context of early identification and intervention and unraveling the complex nature of autism.
Springer. Available from: Springer Nature. One New York Plaza, Suite 4600, New York, NY 10004. Tel: 800-777-4643; Tel: 212-460-1500; Fax: 212-460-1700; e-mail: customerservice@springernature.com; Web site: https://link-springer-com.bibliotheek.ehb.be/
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Information Analyses
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: H325D190064
Department of Education Funded: Yes
Author Affiliations: 1University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Department of Special Education, Champaign, USA; 2University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Department of Educational Psychology, Champaign, USA; 3University of Washington, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Seattle, USA