How autism is diagnosed by eye tracking method revised

Evaluating the Empirical Value of Tracking the Eyes to Study a Condition or Specific Area of Psychology
How Autism Is Diagnosed by Eye Tracking Method in Infants
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The Study Rationale
There is always a belief that autism takes place at some point in a human’s life. However, the autism disorder has been there since the onset of life, particularly in infants. For infants, they can always follow gazes of people since they usually tend to understand that what people look at is what they think. The infants also learn attitudes as well as body languages to develop meaning. Also, for autism spectrum disorder, the division line concerning attraction and attention is not that defined (Klin et al., 2000).
For purposes of developing effective intervention and prevention methods to discover the spectrum, there is need to understand autism spectrum disorder of an individual’s inner world. The activities they engage in, the things that matter to them as well as their perception of the world. There are technologies build by researchers to study the world from people with ASD’s eyes. For instance, the eye-tracking technology which allows one to see what newborns, children, and people are engaging in every moment (Bolte et al., 2013).
The paper will emphasize on critical evaluation of eye tracking method for autism spectrum disorder diagnosis in infants. The eye tracking method and autism spectrum disorder relation will be discussed based on their validity, reliability, strengths, weaknesses as well as research findings.

Autism Spectrum Disorder
Autism, commonly known as autism spectrum disorder is a complex condition which characterized by a group of neurodevelopment disorders that causes challenges in social skills, non-verbal communications speech, and interaction as well as having repetitive behaviors or stereotyped behaviors (Durkin et al., 2017). Those people with the disorder are unique regarding strengths and differences. The disorder is majorly caused by different combination and interaction of both genetic and environmental conditions. Autism spectrum disorder is termed as spectrum and complex because there are some individuals with the disorder but have a serious intellectual deficit while some possess special abilities. The disorder is strongly associated with genetic components of developmental disorders which usually begins at the period when the baby is born. Before it was merged as ASP, the disorder had various distinctive subtypes which included the childhood disintegrative disorder, Asperger syndrome, autistic disorder as well as persuasive developmental disorder not otherwise specified. About autism diagnosis currently, it requires that at least six behavioral characteristics, as well as developmental characteristics, are visible before the age of about two or here years.
In most occasions, autism spectrum disorder, most obvious signs start to appear when the child is at the age of about two years. In some cases, it is possible to conduct a diagnosis as early as six months of age. Since autism spectrum disorder has various causes, there is need to focus on the first two years of development majorly. This is because some symptoms and liabilities may not be directly causing autism disorder, yet autism may be creating itself. (Klin et al., 2008). People with the disorder show a deficit in nonverbal communication that is necessary for interactions socially. They also demonstrate a deficit in developing and understanding relationships, the presence of repetitive behavior patterns as well as a deficit in social and emotional reciprocity.
Eye Tracking Method
Eye tracking is a technique used in measuring a person’s point of gaze (the point where one is looking) or the movement of the eye. In essence, it refers to the recording of eye movement and its relative position in an environment. It is done through tracking the reflections from the corneal and assessing the visual attention of an individual. The technology behind eye tracking has made it easier to use in examining human behavior as well as in assessing real-time eye movements. The modern eye trackers majorly utilize the technology of near infrared which usually has a camera with relatively high-resolution capabilities of tracking gaze positions and directions. The technology works in such a way that the near-infrared light is focused on the pupil of an eye resulting to reflections in the cornea which are eventually tracked by a high-resolution camera (Bryn, 2017). Thus, eye tracking technique can reveal the visual elements that likely attract quick attention as well as those elements that maybe be ignored and overlooked.
Critique of Eye Tracking
Eye tracking technology is also characterized by various weaknesses and strengths. The most common strengths that are associated with eye tracking technique include: the technique is faster, more efficient and reliable than any other input media. Unlike the other traditional methods like comprehensive diagnostic evaluation which involves genetic testing and other medical testing and takes a long time to provide final results, eye tracking technology provides real-time feedback of eye movement data. Eye tracking technique is also useful in conducting usability studies as well as understanding how users interact with their environment. Eye tracking is useful in examining human-related disorders like autism. Also, eye tracking techniques which are video-based are becoming less expensive. As a technique, the tools and equipment that facilitates better analysis and visualization are becoming available. The major weaknesses associated with eye tracking include: the technique is relatively expensive and difficult to learn as well. Not every person can work with eye trackers due to certain attributes associated with it like an individual’s long eyelashes. It is also relatively difficult to interpret the data in this technique because eye movements are often non-intentional as compared to other methods of autism diagnosis like screening; which only requires the doctor to examine the behavior and the development of the child. Thus, careful interpretation is necessary to avoid unwanted user action responses (Jacob, 2011). Also, eye tracking equipment takes a relatively long period to calibrate which is likely to make the user deviate from using the device. Another major weakness is that eye tracking is a computer input device and moving an eye is in most cases a subconscious act. So, unlike the computer mouse which can be controlled all the time, it is very difficult to control eye positions accurately at all times. This implies that instability is likely to be experienced at the eye tracking output device whenever it fails to obtain an image of the eye due to either blinking of the eye or head movement outside the tracking area or region. Unlike the conventional inputs of the computer, eye movements are on the other hand are completely different. It is different in the sense that best results of diagnosis can only be obtained when the eye movement, as the implicit input, occurs naturally, but not through training users on how to move their eyes while operating the devices.
Eye Movement and Its Relation to Autism
Autism spectrum disorders (ASD), are the neurological conditions that are characterized by impairments arising from deficits in social interaction, nonverbal communication as well as a deficit in imagination. Autism disorder has also been linked with a deficit in cognitive processes such as perceptions as well as atypical attention. Eye movement technology has been applied in exploring the perceptual and the cognitive processes which are associated with autism (Rayner, 2009). Some theories explain the causes of autism such as genetic related (hereditary factors), immunization during childhood as well as environmental agents. As such, there exists little evidence to support the theories. Thus, eye movement measurements try to relate the autism by providing information on the sampling and processing differences that might exist. The technique also provides an online measure of cognitive processing as they occur at various tasks. The patterns of fixation and saccade provide information on the existence of saccadic systems of orientation. This provides inferences on the significance of holding as well as capturing attention in autism.
The technique of eye movement explores the major aspects of autism. For instance, the basic characteristics of oculomotor examined using the low-level eye movement control. Another aspect involves exploring eye movement in the perpetual processing of more complex stimuli. The other aspects involve the exploring of eye movement technique in providing insights of the social impairments which are the most common autism characteristics.
About basic oculomotor control, the eye tracking technique involved the measurement of saccade amplitude as well as the velocity (Rosenhall et al., 1998). Majority of the participants exhibited velocities reduced at maximum as well as saccadic positions of landing which fell short in locating the target. The measurement of the frequency in eye movement revealed that individuals with ASD disorder showed more eye movements. Also, the language development is regarded as modulating factor of autism in oculomotor controls. About perpetual processing of complex stimuli in autism, eye movement technique has identified a relationship between the movement patterns with the imagination or flexibility elements of autistic impairment triad. In social impairments, the technique shows that people with ASD process face typically, i.e., participants’ exhibits reduced fixation on major features of the face especially the eyes (Pelphrey et al., 2002).
The eye tracking method remains efficient in diagnosing autism disorder. Earlier methods applied for the same included developmental screening (tests to examine if children are learning basic skills) and comprehensive diagnostic evaluation (examining a child’s behavior and development) (“Center for disease control and prevention”).
The Process of Autism Diagnosis by Eye Tracking Technique
The method of eye tracking was successful in obtaining autism symptoms in infants of six months. According to Klin and Jones (2008), they developed a measure which was compounded by frames and attentional funnels. They first tracked a typical two years’ age child’s eyes. They then tracked a two-year-old child with an autism disorder by watching both of them a video. It was noted that the typical child focused on the little scenes of fights in the video while the child with autism focused on the opening and closing of the door in the same scenes. They then developed a growth eye fixation chart or the focus percent of the eye for ages two, three, four, five, six and nine months until the age of twenty-four months. It was observed that typical children focused on peoples’ eyes initial times by the time it remains stable. For babies with autism disorder, it started high up and mild orientation with people but no traction, then a free fall. They then used the data to look six months’ infants and concluded that the eye fixation for the two groups (the typical child and the child with autism disorder) could easily be separated. Also, those measure with other similar measurements can be useful in identifying autism conditions early in life. When compared to early times, it is thus not necessary to wait until a child is two years old or more for autism disorders to emerge for diagnosis.
The study of eye tracking in infants through corneal reflections has been successful in diagnosing autism. It involved the study of gaze performances in infants as well as estimation of gaze location with a high accuracy of infrared reflection (Johnson et al., 2010).
In conclusion, the eye-tracking technology is thus useful in diagnosing autism disorders for participants especially infants. In the future directions and research, the eye movement method is being applied in diagnosing autism disorder through examination of other aspects. This aspect includes the linguistic ability of a person, the imitation capabilities of a person. Children with autism disorder have poor imitation ability. According to Russell (1997), the eye tracking technique has been useful in exploring the dysfunctions associated with autism disorder. Thus, future research must also take into account the various subgroups associated with ASD disorders. It should also involve natural settings and stimuli like the dynamic presentation of information and processing investigation through one on one social interaction (Klin, 2008). Future research directions should also assess the probability of using the eye movement method as techniques of rehabilitation.
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