Autism Research Centre, Glenrose Rehabilitation Hospital and Department of Pediatrics, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
IWK Health Centre and Departments of Pediatrics and Psychology and Neuroscience, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.
Autism Res. 2023 Aug;16(8):1501-1511. doi: 10.1002/aur.2983. Epub 2023 Jul 13.
The objectives were to compare patterns of visual attention in toddlers diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) as compared to their sex- and age-matched neurotypical (NT) peers. Participants included 23 toddlers with ASD and 19 NT toddlers (mean age: 25.52 versus 25.21 months, respectively) assessed using computerized tasks to measure sustained attention, disengaging attention, and cognitive control, as well as an in-person task to assess joint attention. Toddlers in the ASD group showed increased looking durations on the sustained attention task, as well as reduced frequencies of responding to and initiating joint attention compared to NT peers, but showed no differences on tasks of disengaging attention and cognitive control. The results suggest that toddlers with ASD have attentional strengths that may provide a foundation for building attention, communicative, and ultimately, academic skills.
目的是比较诊断为自闭症谱系障碍（ASD）的幼儿与性别和年龄匹配的神经典型（NT）幼儿的视觉注意力模式。参与者包括 23 名 ASD 幼儿和 19 名 NT 幼儿（平均年龄分别为 25.52 个月和 25.21 个月），使用计算机任务评估持续注意力、分散注意力和认知控制，以及评估联合注意力的面对面任务。与 NT 同龄人相比，ASD 组的幼儿在持续注意力任务中表现出更长的注视时间，以及较少的回应和发起联合注意力的频率，但在分散注意力和认知控制任务中没有差异。结果表明，ASD 幼儿具有注意力优势，这可能为建立注意力、沟通和最终学术技能提供基础。
