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Increasing Eye Contact Toward Learning Materials in a Toddler with Autism

Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder often display deficits in eye contact that limit communicating with others, completing tasks, and attending to relevant stimuli. The participant in this study was a two-and-a-half-year-old boy with autism who seldom looked at materials while attempting three different tasks—assembling the pieces of a puzzle, stacking objects, and looking at pictures. This study compared rates of eye contact toward three target materials under two conditions: when food reinforcers were provided when he made eye contact with task materials and when they were withheld. An initial baseline phase was followed by a continuous reinforcement schedule in the first experimental phase that subsequently was thinned to an intermittent reinforcement schedule in the final phase. Results demonstrated an increase in eye contact toward target materials under both continuous and intermittent reinforcement conditions.