North American Society for the Psychology of Sport and Physical Activity

Motor Development AbstractsAtypical Gaze in Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder During an Active Balance TaskVenkata Naga Pradeep Ambati, California State University, San BernardinoUnusual gaze behavior in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) was reported very early in the literature. This pattern of atypical gaze in children with ASD may be advantageous in certain tasks such as embedded figures test but may lead to difficulty in other types of tasks such as motor skills. Therefore, the current study examined gaze behavior in children with ASD and typically developing children while performing an active balance task on the Wii balance board. 8 children diagnosed with high functioning ASD with an average age of 14±1.6 years were recruited from Center for Autism Spectrum disorders at Southern Illinois University (SIU) Carbondale. 9 typically developing children with an average age of 13±1 years were recruited by posting fliers on SIU Carbondale campus. They were fitted with an...