Eye-tracking to spot autism early in young children
Testing the accuracy of eye tracking as a screening tool for ASD in the general population
This project uses short eye-tracking tasks to look for early signs of autism in young children during routine screening.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R37 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of California, San Diego NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (La Jolla, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11304552 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
As a parent of a young child, this project uses six brief, computer-based eye-tracking tasks that measure where children look in social and non-social scenes to find patterns linked to autism. The researchers developed these tasks using a legacy dataset of more than 2,000 toddlers with and without autism to pick the best measurements and cut-off values. While a single task had very high specificity but low sensitivity, combining all six tasks greatly improved sensitivity while maintaining high specificity. Participation would typically involve a short, noninvasive eye-tracking session at the research site or an affiliated clinic.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: Ideal candidates are toddlers and young children seen for routine developmental screening or because of early developmental concerns, typically in the preschool age range.
Not a fit: Children with severe visual impairments, those who cannot complete brief computer-based tasks, or people already diagnosed with autism are unlikely to benefit from this screening tool.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this approach could help identify children with autism earlier and more reliably so they can start services sooner.
How similar studies have performed: Previous work using these eye-tracking measures showed very high specificity and positive predictive value for individual tasks but low sensitivity per task, and combining tasks has shown promising improvements in sensitivity that still need broader validation.
Where this research is happening
La Jolla, United States
- University of California, San Diego — La Jolla, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Pierce, Karen L — University of California, San Diego
- Study coordinator: Pierce, Karen L
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page below.