Tracking eye movements has helped scientists learn about cognitive processes for years. In today’s technological age, practitioners can utilize tech-enabled glasses and tablets to track movements. Artificial intelligence, or AI, can also help detect the subtle differences in autistic gaze patterns. However, be aware that AI alone can’t definitively “diagnose” autism – only a trained practitioner like a psychologist can do that.
Using these modern methods, signs of autism may be identified in children starting as early as 16 months old, compared to the typical age of around 5 years. Researchers hope that technology’s ease and speed will lead to earlier assessments and interventions, providing better outcomes for children with autism.
How Do These Eye-Tracking Devices Operate?
An eye-tracking device emits an invisible light beam, which reflects off the cornea, allowing a camera to capture the glint’s location. The device then measures the distance from the pupil to the glint, quickly pinpointing exact points of focus.
Main Movement Types
There are four main movement types that eye-movement trackers gather data on:
Saccades: Quick, short shifts between visual spots
Scan path: A succession of fixations and movements
Fixations: Where the eye stops moving
Blink rate: How fast the eyelids open and close
Once an eye-tracking device has collected data, researchers can analyze what, and for how long, something captured someone’s attention. It’s important to know that attentional patterns can, and often do, differ in autistic individuals.
For example, a 2025 study showed that saccadic amplitude (how far apart their points of fixation are) can be different than in neurotypical individuals. Furthermore, saccadic duration (how long it takes to move eyes between fixations) is atypical in autistics. These things fall under autistic profiles in gaze patterns, and they may help with early identification (Setu, 2025).
What Else Is Shown Through Movement Types?
A variety of studies show that autistic individuals often have differing attentional patterns. In a 2023 study, a group of neurotypical and autistic children were shown videos that depicted cartoon characters and human beings nodding, clapping, dancing, etc. Autistic children were more drawn toward the cartoon characters. Most neurotypical children, however, spent their time examining human bodies and faces (Meng et al., 2023).
Other Ways to Identify Autism
In addition to emerging tools such as eye-tracking technology, a comprehensive, formal autism assessment remains essential. Widely used assessments include the ADOS-2 and MIGDAS-2, both of which support the identification of autism across age groups, and the SRS-2, which complements these tools by offering valuable insight into an individual’s social responsiveness and related behaviors.
