From Gaze to Interaction: Links Between Visual Attention, Facial Expression Identification, and Behavior of Children Diagnosed with ASD or Typically Developing Children with an Assistance Dog

Understanding how children engage with others is crucial for improving social interactions, especially when one of the partners is an animal. We investigated relationships between interaction strategies, visual attention, and facial expression identification of children interacting with an assistance dog, and evaluated the effects of a neurodevelopmental disorder (Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)) on these elements. Thus 20 children (7 with ASD, 13 with typical development or TD) participated in three experimental tasks: (1) face-to-face encounters with the assistance dog while wearing eye-tracking glasses to analyze visual exploration patterns; (2) free interactions with the assistance dog, assessed using ethological methods and (3) a computerized task evaluating human and canine facial expression identification. The results revealed that (1) visual exploration patterns varied depending on task instructions: ASD children paid less attention to faces and more to the environment than TD children; (2) both groups displayed similar behavioral patterns during free interactions with the assistance dog; (3) facial expression identification data did not differ between groups; and (4) within-group associations emerged between visual attention, spontaneous interaction behaviors, and facial expression identification abilities. These findings highlighted the complex interplay between visual attention, facial expression identification, and social behavior of children, emphasizing the importance of context in shaping interaction strategies.