Considering the frequent use of strategies for increasing eye contact, it is crucial to understand the physiological reactivity to eye contact in ASD due to their additional vulnerability to psychopathology. However, the literature is characterized by inconsistent findings. Importantly, no previous studies have examined the impacts of eye contact on physiological reactivity and cognitive performance in ASD. This novel study examines how the need to maintain eye contact affects physiological reactivity and cognitive performance in ASD adolescents as compared to their peers.
Researchers:
Agnes Wong (PhD student, M.A., MOT, HKROT Part 1), and supervised by Prof. Earl Woodruff at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE) at the University of Toronto
Who can participate:
Inclusion criteria for ASD group: Adolescents aged 13 to 18, with formal diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), with estimated normal intelligence (satisfactory results in the reading comprehension screening), normal or corrected-to-normal vision, and can listen to and speak in English.
Inclusion criteria for TD group: Adolescents aged 13 to 18, with estimated normal intelligence (satisfactory results in the reading comprehension screening), and normal or corrected-to-normal vision, normal or corrected-to-normal vision, and can listen to and speak in English.
What’s involved:
Methods:
- Online screening: English comprehension task (~15 minutes)
- Face-to-face experiment at OISE/University of Toronto: Digit span task (~30 minutes)
- Contactless Transdermal Optical Imaging (TOI) will be used to measure heart rate, basal stress index and blood pressure
Compensation:
$5 gift card for screening;
$15 gift card for experimental study;
A list of mental health services information sheet
Interested in participating:
If you have any questions please e-mail Ms. Agnes Wong at skagnes.wong@utoronto.ca
Deadline:
April 2023