TY - JOUR
T1 - Social preferences in Rett syndrome
AU - Djukic, Aleksandra
AU - Valicenti McDermott, Maria
N1 - Funding Information:
The acquisition of equipment used in this study was made possible by generous donations to the Rett Center at Montefiore from the family of our patient R.R. A.D. was supported by the international Rett syndrome consortium RettSearch and by a microgrant mechanism of the International Rett Syndrome Foundation. The authors thank Solomon Moshe, MD, for valuable suggestions during preparation of the manuscript, and Iris Fishman, MA, CCC-SLP, for assistance with editing.
PY - 2012/4
Y1 - 2012/4
N2 - Children with Rett syndrome manifest profound impairments in their ability to speak and use their hands, and exhibit a very limited repertoire of abilities to express themselves, to be neuropsychologically tested, and consequently to be understood. This study examined nonverbal cognitive abilities and visual preferences by analyzing the pattern of visual fixation in 49 girls with Rett syndrome, compared with a group of typical control subjects. The girls with Rett syndrome demonstrated a tendency toward socially weighted stimuli/social preferences. They looked at people, and into people's eyes. Eye tracking represents a feasible method to assess cognition, and provide insights into the burden of isolation of these children and the mismatch between their social preferences and incompetence, caused by movement disorder and apraxia.
AB - Children with Rett syndrome manifest profound impairments in their ability to speak and use their hands, and exhibit a very limited repertoire of abilities to express themselves, to be neuropsychologically tested, and consequently to be understood. This study examined nonverbal cognitive abilities and visual preferences by analyzing the pattern of visual fixation in 49 girls with Rett syndrome, compared with a group of typical control subjects. The girls with Rett syndrome demonstrated a tendency toward socially weighted stimuli/social preferences. They looked at people, and into people's eyes. Eye tracking represents a feasible method to assess cognition, and provide insights into the burden of isolation of these children and the mismatch between their social preferences and incompetence, caused by movement disorder and apraxia.
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U2 - 10.1016/j.pediatrneurol.2012.01.011
DO - 10.1016/j.pediatrneurol.2012.01.011
M3 - Article
C2 - 22490770
AN - SCOPUS:84859528225
SN - 0887-8994
VL - 46
SP - 240
EP - 242
JO - Pediatric Neurology
JF - Pediatric Neurology
IS - 4
ER -