This study is designed to help us learn about brain development by researching eye contact in children with autism spectrum disorder and intellectual disability. This project uses EEG and eye-tracking to measure brain function and behavioral tasks to examine social, communication, and emotional skills, but also tracks movement to help participants attend to the research without needing to understand complex instructions. These methods will help us understand what happens in the brain when we see faces and can allow an additional group of children with ASD and ID to participate in our study.
What are the goals of the study?
This project studies attention to social images in children with intellectual disability (ID) and children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and ID. We are studying behavior and brain systems to better understand the social difficulties that are often experienced by people with ASD and ID. We hope to use these tools to help treat individuals living with these disorders.
What will happen during the visit or online?
Participation involves one or two visits to our lab where individuals will talk to a clinician, complete questionnaires, and watch videos while their brain waves and movement are recorded. Participants will receive a clinical evaluation and report as well as compensation between $60 to $120.
How will this help families?
This study opens the door for children with limited verbal expression or comprehension to participate in research and by welcoming a more diverse group of children into neuroscience research, we gain a better understanding of the brain in autism.