Eye-tracking to help screen children for autism spectrum disorder
Tests eye-tracking as a way to screen for autism in young children.
Plain-language title generated from the registry record
Registry title: Social COgnition Screening
Key facts
- Where
- Amiens, FranceSee the site
Could this be for you?
Answer for yourself. This is not a decision: only the study team can say whether you can take part.
- Are you between 4 and 10 years old?
Source: NCT07377227, who can take part
Where in France
- Amiens hospitalAmiens, FranceNo longer taking part
Questions to ask the study team
- How often do I need to come in, and for how long each time?
- Are travel costs paid?
- Can I keep my own doctor?
- What happens if I want to stop?
Trial details
- Who runs it
- Centre Hospitalier Universitaire, Amiens
- Trial code
- NCT07377227
- Record updated
- 6 February 2026
- Original description
Social cognition refers to the mental processes involved in social interactions, including social perception, motivation, communication, emotion recognition, and theory of mind. Face perception plays a key role in children's social development, but children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) tend to look less at social stimuli, especially faces, than typically developing (TD) peers. Eye-tracking studies highlight these visual exploration differences, linked to difficulties in joint attention, emotion recognition, and theory of mind, as well as in executive and memory functions. Standard diagnostic tests often require active participation and sufficient language, which makes assessment challenging for children with ASD and additional cognitive or language impairments.Read full original descriptionShow less
Evaluation of Social Cognition: A New Screening Approach for Autism
Social cognition refers to the mental processes involved in social interactions, including social perception, motivation, communication, emotion recognition, and theory of mind. Face perception plays a key role in children's social development, but children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) tend to look less at social stimuli, especially faces, than typically developing (TD) peers. Eye-tracking studies highlight these visual exploration differences, linked to difficulties in joint attention, emotion recognition, and theory of mind, as well as in executive and memory functions. Standard diagnostic tests often require active participation and sufficient language, which makes assessment challenging for children with ASD and additional cognitive or language impairments.
This research project investigates how visual activity supports social cognition depending on cognitive and language levels, hypothesizing that eye-tracking can provide useful indicators for ASD screening and diagnosis.
Inclusion: ASD Group:; Boys or girls diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (based on clinical tools and observations); Aged between 4 and 10 years old; Affiliation with a social security scheme; Informed consent of those with parental authority; DT Group:; Boys or girls; Aged between 4 and 10; Attending school in the Hauts-de-France region; Affiliation with a social security scheme; Consent of those with parental authority.
Exclusion: For DT: Intellectual disability, neurological or genetic disorders, autistic traits reported by teachers. The discrepancy between actual age and abilities calculated on the basis of standardised test scores; For ASD: Uncorrected visual or auditory impairments.