Association for Behavior Analysis International

Three presentations focusing on advances and extensions in the assessment and treatment of eye contact will be highlighted. First, eye contact will be discussed in a historical context, including how it has been typically defined, how data have been collected with and/or without the use of technology, and how eye contact has been treated historically among individuals diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Then, preliminary pilot data will be reviewed demonstrating the effects of a video game for teaching various social skills, particularly eye contact, and how this can be subsequently shaped through the use of video game technology. Finally, eye contact will be discussed in the context of the development, data collection, and analysis of eye contact in relation to socially valid performance measures among school-age learners with ASD. Thoughts, future direction, and extensions are discussed in the context of appropriate clients, generalization, and social validity.

Behavior analysts and students of behavior analysis

Eye contact has long been noted as a deficit in individuals diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder. The use of technology to track and measure impairments in social eye gaze, appropriate eye contact, and identification of emotions has evolved as the technology has advanced. These advancements in measurement have included methods for measuring where the individual is looking on the face, how often the individual is looking at the eyes, the duration of time spent gazing, and the ability of the individual to obtain socially relevant information about others such as emotional state or object of attention. This review will discuss the history of these definitional issues, the timeline of technological advances, the role of technology in measuring eye contact and eye gaze. In addition, we will discuss how technological advances have improved our understanding of eye contact impairments, as well as interventions for improving social eye contact in individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Future implications of advances in technological measurement of social eye contact and eye gaze will also be discussed.

The use of video games to build social skills is an interesting possibility that has received increased attention in recent years. Using video games to teach skills is intriguing for several reasons. High-interest, preferred gaming might provide many learning opportunities for shaping skills, and individuals who select to spend time gaming might benefit from games with identified social skill acquisition targets. Specifically, it may be possible to shape eye contact into socially acceptable forms. In this presentation, preliminary data will be presented on video games that are intended to increase core social skills. Data will be presented on the extent to which eye contact can be shaped within video games. In addition, data will be presented on the extent of change observed following game exposure, in dyadic interaction tasks. Additional information will be shared on the social validity data attained from exposure to such games. Questions on dosing, engagement, and generalization will be posed, and suggestions for future investigations of these questions will be explored.