Autistic young people adaptively use gaze to facilitate joint attention during multi-gestural dyadic interactions / Nathan CARUANA in Autism, 28-6 (June 2024)  

Public ISBD [article]  inAutism > 28-6 (June 2024) . - p.1565-1581 Titre : Autistic young people adaptively use gaze to facilitate joint attention during multi-gestural dyadic interactions Type de document : Texte imprimé et/ou numérique Auteurs : Nathan CARUANA, Auteur ; Patrick NALEPKA, Auteur ; Glicyr A. PEREZ, Auteur ; Christine INKLEY, Auteur ; Courtney MUNRO, Auteur ; Hannah RAPAPORT, Auteur ; Simon BRETT, Auteur ; David M. KAPLAN, Auteur ; Michael J. RICHARDSON, Auteur ; Elizabeth PELLICANO, Auteur Article en page(s) : p.1565-1581 Langues : Anglais (eng) Mots-clés : eye contact  gaze  non-verbal communication  social interaction  virtual reality Index. décimale : PER Périodiques Résumé : Autistic people often experience difficulties navigating face-to-face social interactions. Historically, the empirical literature has characterised these difficulties as cognitive 'deficits' in social information processing. However, the empirical basis for such claims is lacking, with most studies failing to capture the complexity of social interactions, often distilling them into singular communicative modalities (e.g. gaze-based communication) that are rarely used in isolation in daily interactions. The current study examined how gaze was used in concert with communicative hand gestures during joint attention interactions. We employed an immersive virtual reality paradigm, where autistic (n = 22) and non-autistic (n = 22) young people completed a collaborative task with a non-autistic confederate. Integrated eye-, head- and hand-motion-tracking enabled dyads to communicate naturally with each other while offering objective measures of attention and behaviour. Autistic people in our sample were similarly, if not more, effective in responding to hand-cued joint attention bids compared with non-autistic people. Moreover, both autistic and non-autistic people demonstrated an ability to adaptively use gaze information to aid coordination. Our findings suggest that the intersecting fields of autism and social neuroscience research may have overstated the role of eye gaze during coordinated social interactions. Lay abstract Autistic people have been said to have 'problems' with joint attention, that is, looking where someone else is looking. Past studies of joint attention have used tasks that require autistic people to continuously look at and respond to eye-gaze cues. But joint attention can also be done using other social cues, like pointing. This study looked at whether autistic and non-autistic young people use another person?s eye gaze during joint attention in a task that did not require them to look at their partner?s face. In the task, each participant worked together with their partner to find a computer-generated object in virtual reality. Sometimes the participant had to help guide their partner to the object, and other times, they followed their partner?s lead. Participants were told to point to guide one another but were not told to use eye gaze. Both autistic and non-autistic participants often looked at their partner?s face during joint attention interactions and were faster to respond to their partner?s hand-pointing when the partner also looked at the object before pointing. This shows that autistic people can and do use information from another person?s eyes, even when they don?t have to. It is possible that, by not forcing autistic young people to look at their partner?s face and eyes, they were better able to gather information from their partner?s face when needed, without being overwhelmed. This shows how important it is to design tasks that provide autistic people with opportunities to show what they can do. En ligne : https://dx.doi.org/10.1177/13623613231211967 Permalink : https://www.cra-rhone-alpes.org/cid/opac_css/index.php?lvl=notice_display&id=529 [article] Autistic young people adaptively use gaze to facilitate joint attention during multi-gestural dyadic interactions [Texte imprimé et/ou numérique] / Nathan CARUANA, Auteur ; Patrick NALEPKA, Auteur ; Glicyr A. PEREZ, Auteur ; Christine INKLEY, Auteur ; Courtney MUNRO, Auteur ; Hannah RAPAPORT, Auteur ; Simon BRETT, Auteur ; David M. KAPLAN, Auteur ; Michael J. RICHARDSON, Auteur ; Elizabeth PELLICANO, Auteur . - p.1565-1581. Langues : Anglais (eng) in Autism > 28-6 (June 2024) . - p.1565-1581 Mots-clés : eye contact  gaze  non-verbal communication  social interaction  virtual reality Index. décimale : PER Périodiques Résumé : Autistic people often experience difficulties navigating face-to-face social interactions. Historically, the empirical literature has characterised these difficulties as cognitive 'deficits' in social information processing. However, the empirical basis for such claims is lacking, with most studies failing to capture the complexity of social interactions, often distilling them into singular communicative modalities (e.g. gaze-based communication) that are rarely used in isolation in daily interactions. The current study examined how gaze was used in concert with communicative hand gestures during joint attention interactions. We employed an immersive virtual reality paradigm, where autistic (n = 22) and non-autistic (n = 22) young people completed a collaborative task with a non-autistic confederate. Integrated eye-, head- and hand-motion-tracking enabled dyads to communicate naturally with each other while offering objective measures of attention and behaviour. Autistic people in our sample were similarly, if not more, effective in responding to hand-cued joint attention bids compared with non-autistic people. Moreover, both autistic and non-autistic people demonstrated an ability to adaptively use gaze information to aid coordination. Our findings suggest that the intersecting fields of autism and social neuroscience research may have overstated the role of eye gaze during coordinated social interactions. Lay abstract Autistic people have been said to have 'problems' with joint attention, that is, looking where someone else is looking. Past studies of joint attention have used tasks that require autistic people to continuously look at and respond to eye-gaze cues. But joint attention can also be done using other social cues, like pointing. This study looked at whether autistic and non-autistic young people use another person?s eye gaze during joint attention in a task that did not require them to look at their partner?s face. In the task, each participant worked together with their partner to find a computer-generated object in virtual reality. Sometimes the participant had to help guide their partner to the object, and other times, they followed their partner?s lead. Participants were told to point to guide one another but were not told to use eye gaze. Both autistic and non-autistic participants often looked at their partner?s face during joint attention interactions and were faster to respond to their partner?s hand-pointing when the partner also looked at the object before pointing. This shows that autistic people can and do use information from another person?s eyes, even when they don?t have to. It is possible that, by not forcing autistic young people to look at their partner?s face and eyes, they were better able to gather information from their partner?s face when needed, without being overwhelmed. This shows how important it is to design tasks that provide autistic people with opportunities to show what they can do. En ligne : https://dx.doi.org/10.1177/13623613231211967 Permalink : https://www.cra-rhone-alpes.org/cid/opac_css/index.php?lvl=notice_display&id=529

COVID-19, social isolation and the mental health of autistic people and their families: A qualitative study / Elizabeth PELLICANO in Autism, 26-4 (May 2022)  

Public ISBD [article]  inAutism > 26-4 (May 2022) . - p.914-927 Titre : COVID-19, social isolation and the mental health of autistic people and their families: A qualitative study Type de document : Texte imprimé et/ou numérique Auteurs : Elizabeth PELLICANO, Auteur ; Simon BRETT, Auteur ; Jacquiline DEN HOUTING, Auteur ; Melanie HEYWORTH, Auteur ; Iliana MAGIATI, Auteur ; Robyn STEWARD, Auteur ; Anna URBANOWICZ, Auteur ; Marc STEARS, Auteur Article en page(s) : p.914-927 Langues : Anglais (eng) Mots-clés : Adolescent  Adult  Autism Spectrum Disorder  Autistic Disorder  Covid-19  Child  Communicable Disease Control  Humans  Mental Health  Pandemics  Social Isolation  participatory research  qualitative research Index. décimale : PER Périodiques Résumé : In this study, we show that autistic people and their families have found it very difficult to deal with the lockdowns during the COVID-19 pandemic. Autistic and non-autistic researchers spoke to 144 people, including 44 autistic adults, 84 parents of autistic children and 16 autistic young people (12-18?years old). We asked them about their everyday lives and mental health during lockdown. People told us that they enjoyed having fewer obligations and demands compared to pre-COVID-19 life. They felt that life was quieter and calmer. But people also told us again and again how much they missed meeting people in real life, especially their friends, and their therapists and support workers. People told us that their mental health suffered because they did not have contact with their friends and services. Importantly, many people (including researchers) think that autistic people do not want friends or to be around people. But our results show that is not true. Many autistic people do want friends and to be around other people. Some people's mental health has been damaged by not being able to see people during COVID-19. Autistic people need support in many areas of life so they can keep socialising and seeing their friends even through difficult times, like pandemics. En ligne : https://dx.doi.org/10.1177/13623613211035936 Permalink : https://www.cra-rhone-alpes.org/cid/opac_css/index.php?lvl=notice_display&id=473 [article] COVID-19, social isolation and the mental health of autistic people and their families: A qualitative study [Texte imprimé et/ou numérique] / Elizabeth PELLICANO, Auteur ; Simon BRETT, Auteur ; Jacquiline DEN HOUTING, Auteur ; Melanie HEYWORTH, Auteur ; Iliana MAGIATI, Auteur ; Robyn STEWARD, Auteur ; Anna URBANOWICZ, Auteur ; Marc STEARS, Auteur . - p.914-927. Langues : Anglais (eng) in Autism > 26-4 (May 2022) . - p.914-927 Mots-clés : Adolescent  Adult  Autism Spectrum Disorder  Autistic Disorder  Covid-19  Child  Communicable Disease Control  Humans  Mental Health  Pandemics  Social Isolation  participatory research  qualitative research Index. décimale : PER Périodiques Résumé : In this study, we show that autistic people and their families have found it very difficult to deal with the lockdowns during the COVID-19 pandemic. Autistic and non-autistic researchers spoke to 144 people, including 44 autistic adults, 84 parents of autistic children and 16 autistic young people (12-18?years old). We asked them about their everyday lives and mental health during lockdown. People told us that they enjoyed having fewer obligations and demands compared to pre-COVID-19 life. They felt that life was quieter and calmer. But people also told us again and again how much they missed meeting people in real life, especially their friends, and their therapists and support workers. People told us that their mental health suffered because they did not have contact with their friends and services. Importantly, many people (including researchers) think that autistic people do not want friends or to be around people. But our results show that is not true. Many autistic people do want friends and to be around other people. Some people's mental health has been damaged by not being able to see people during COVID-19. Autistic people need support in many areas of life so they can keep socialising and seeing their friends even through difficult times, like pandemics. En ligne : https://dx.doi.org/10.1177/13623613211035936 Permalink : https://www.cra-rhone-alpes.org/cid/opac_css/index.php?lvl=notice_display&id=473

“It just fits my needs better”: Autistic students and parents’ experiences of learning from home during the early phase of the COVID-19 pandemic / Melanie HEYWORTH in Autism & Developmental Language Impairments, 6 (January-December 2021)  

Public ISBD [article]  inAutism & Developmental Language Impairments > 6 (January-December 2021) . - 23969415211057681 Titre : “It just fits my needs better”: Autistic students and parents’ experiences of learning from home during the early phase of the COVID-19 pandemic Type de document : Texte imprimé et/ou numérique Auteurs : Melanie HEYWORTH, Auteur ; Simon BRETT, Auteur ; Jacquiline DEN HOUTING, Auteur ; Iliana MAGIATI, Auteur ; Robyn STEWARD, Auteur ; Anna URBANOWICZ, Auteur ; Marc STEARS, Auteur ; Elizabeth PELLICANO, Auteur Article en page(s) : 23969415211057681 Langues : Anglais (eng) Mots-clés : education  schools  student-teacher relationship  inclusion Index. décimale : PER Périodiques Résumé : Background and aimsThe COVID-19 pandemic has caused unprecedented disruption to people's lives, especially for families, whose children have been taken out of schools during lockdown restrictions and required to learn from home. Little is known, however, about the perceived impact of the lockdown restrictions on the educational experiences of autistic children and young people – a group whose conventional schooling experiences are already often challenging. In this study, we sought to (1) understand these experiences from the perspectives of autistic young people and their parents, and (2) identify the underlying sources of positive experiences at this challenging time, in order to inform the ways in which autistic children might flourish at school in more normal times.MethodsNinety-one Australian participants, including 16 autistic young people aged 12–18 years, 32 autistic parents and 43 non-autistic parents of autistic young people aged 3–18 years, took part in semi-structured interviews about their experiences of life during the initial phase of the COVID-19 pandemic. The interviews were subjected to reflexive, thematic analysis to identify themes and subthemes for each research question.ResultsOverall, our participants initially found the transition to learning from home extremely challenging, with parents reporting that the support received from schools was far from adequate. After that initial period of transition, however, many autistic children reported flourishing at home both educationally and personally. For these children and families, we identified three key ingredients essential to this flourishing, including: (i) the importance of connected, trusting relationships (‘people’); (ii) the sensory and social safety of home (‘place’); and (iii) the flexibility to pace and structure learning to suit the individual child (‘time’).ConclusionsWhile the initial COVID-19 lockdown presented many challenges to children learning at home, there were aspects of this otherwise-unsettling situation that enabled children to thrive and from which we can learn for the future.ImplicationsThese findings have important implications for understanding how and when autistic children might thrive in institutional educational settings once the pandemic subsides, focusing on the relationships between teachers and students, the nature of the physical learning environment and the need for greater flexibility in planning the school day. En ligne : http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/23969415211057681 Permalink : https://www.cra-rhone-alpes.org/cid/opac_css/index.php?lvl=notice_display&id=459 [article] “It just fits my needs better”: Autistic students and parents’ experiences of learning from home during the early phase of the COVID-19 pandemic [Texte imprimé et/ou numérique] / Melanie HEYWORTH, Auteur ; Simon BRETT, Auteur ; Jacquiline DEN HOUTING, Auteur ; Iliana MAGIATI, Auteur ; Robyn STEWARD, Auteur ; Anna URBANOWICZ, Auteur ; Marc STEARS, Auteur ; Elizabeth PELLICANO, Auteur . - 23969415211057681. Langues : Anglais (eng) in Autism & Developmental Language Impairments > 6 (January-December 2021) . - 23969415211057681 Mots-clés : education  schools  student-teacher relationship  inclusion Index. décimale : PER Périodiques Résumé : Background and aimsThe COVID-19 pandemic has caused unprecedented disruption to people's lives, especially for families, whose children have been taken out of schools during lockdown restrictions and required to learn from home. Little is known, however, about the perceived impact of the lockdown restrictions on the educational experiences of autistic children and young people – a group whose conventional schooling experiences are already often challenging. In this study, we sought to (1) understand these experiences from the perspectives of autistic young people and their parents, and (2) identify the underlying sources of positive experiences at this challenging time, in order to inform the ways in which autistic children might flourish at school in more normal times.MethodsNinety-one Australian participants, including 16 autistic young people aged 12–18 years, 32 autistic parents and 43 non-autistic parents of autistic young people aged 3–18 years, took part in semi-structured interviews about their experiences of life during the initial phase of the COVID-19 pandemic. The interviews were subjected to reflexive, thematic analysis to identify themes and subthemes for each research question.ResultsOverall, our participants initially found the transition to learning from home extremely challenging, with parents reporting that the support received from schools was far from adequate. After that initial period of transition, however, many autistic children reported flourishing at home both educationally and personally. For these children and families, we identified three key ingredients essential to this flourishing, including: (i) the importance of connected, trusting relationships (‘people’); (ii) the sensory and social safety of home (‘place’); and (iii) the flexibility to pace and structure learning to suit the individual child (‘time’).ConclusionsWhile the initial COVID-19 lockdown presented many challenges to children learning at home, there were aspects of this otherwise-unsettling situation that enabled children to thrive and from which we can learn for the future.ImplicationsThese findings have important implications for understanding how and when autistic children might thrive in institutional educational settings once the pandemic subsides, focusing on the relationships between teachers and students, the nature of the physical learning environment and the need for greater flexibility in planning the school day. En ligne : http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/23969415211057681 Permalink : https://www.cra-rhone-alpes.org/cid/opac_css/index.php?lvl=notice_display&id=459

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