Attention in the Infant Siblings of Children with an Autism Spectrum Disorder

by Ibanez, Lisa Victoria

Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASDs) are impaired in visually disengaging attention in both social and non-social contexts, impairments that may, in subtler form, also affect the infant siblings of children with an ASD (ASD-sibs). I investigated patterns of visual attention (gazing) in six-month-old ASD-sibs (n = 17) and the siblings of typically developing children (COMP-sibs; n =17) during the Face-to-Face/Still-Face Protocol (FFSF). Also, I examined joint attention through the Early Social Communication Scales (ESCS) when ASD-sibs and COMP-sibs were eight months of age. The relationship between gazing and later joint attention was examined. Throughout the FFSF protocol, ASD-sibs shifted their gaze to and from their parents' faces less frequently than did COMP-sibs. The mean durations of ASD-sibs gazes away from their parents' faces were longer than those of COMP-sibs. ASD-sibs and COMP-sibs did not differ in the mean durations of gazes at their parents' faces. Also, infants shifts in gaze were positively correlated with initiating joint attention behaviors at eight months of age. In sum, ASD-sibs showed no deficits in visual interest to their parents faces, but greater interest than COMP-sibs in non-face stimuli. Such differences may play an important role in the development of joint attention.