No evidence of atypical attentional disengagement in autism: A study across the spectrum

Eye-movements were recorded while 16 autism spectrum children of mixed ability, and 18 typically developing age-matched controls, completed the Gap–Overlap paradigm. A significant difference in latency to fixate target was found between Gap and Overlap conditions.

A significant interaction with group was due to autism spectrum participants’ shorter latencies to fixate target in the Gap condition, but similar group responses in the Overlap condition. Considerable within-group variability emerged. We predicted that attentional disengaging would be related to specific features of the phenotype; however, there was no evidence of an association with receptive language, non-verbal IQ, sensory behaviors, or autistic severity in autism spectrum or typically developing groups.