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. 2024 Sep;40(3):155-167.
doi: 10.1080/07434618.2024.2325065. Epub 2024 May 24.

Visual fixation patterns to AAC displays are significantly correlated with motor selection for individuals with Down syndrome or individuals on the autism spectrum

Krista M Wilkinson  1 , Savanna Brittlebank  1 , Allison Barwise  1 , Tara O'Neill Zimmerman  1 , Janice Light  1
Affiliations

Visual fixation patterns to AAC displays are significantly correlated with motor selection for individuals with Down syndrome or individuals on the autism spectrum

Krista M Wilkinson et al. Augment Altern Commun. 2024 Sep.

Abstract

Eye tracking research technologies are often used to study how individuals attend visually to different types of AAC displays (e.g. visual scene displays, grid displays). The assumption is that efficiency of visual search may relate to efficiency of motor selection necessary for communication via aided AAC; however, this assumption has not received direct empirical study. We examined the relation between speed of visual search and speed of motor selection of symbols. Ten individuals on the autism spectrum (AS; Study 1) and nine with Down syndrome (DS; Study 2) participated in a search task using simulated AAC displays with a main visual scene display (VSD) and a navigation bar of thumbnail VSDs. Participants were given an auditory prompt to find one of four thumbnail VSDs in the navigation bar. Eye tracking technologies measured how long it took participants to fixate visually on the thumbnail VSD, and recorded how long it took participants to select the thumbnail VSD with a finger. A statistically significant relationship emerged between visual fixation and selection latencies, confirming the positive relationship between visual processing and motor selection for both groups of participants. Eye tracking data may serve as a useful proxy measure for evaluating how display design influences selection of AAC symbols, especially when individuals are unwilling or unable to comply with traditional behaviorally-based assessment tasks.

Keywords: AAC display design; developmental disability; research-based eye tracking; visual scene display.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of Interest Statement: The authors have no relevant conflicts of interest

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Example of a Full Stimulus Trial
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Mean latency to visual fixation and mean latency to motor selection of targets for participants on the autism spectrum
Figure 3
Figure 3
Correlation Between Fixation Latency and Motor Response Latency for Participants With AS in Study 1
Figure 4.
Figure 4.
Mean latency to visual fixation and mean latency to motor selection of targets for participants with Down syndrome
Figure 5
Figure 5
Correlation Between Fixation Latency and Motor Response Latency for Participants with Down Syndrome (Study 2)
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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