A Metacognitive Technological Intervention for Promoting Eye Contact Among Children With ASD: Preliminary Research Evidence

This preliminary study aimed to examine improvement in eye contact among children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) following an innovative technological intervention integrated with meta-cognitive guidance. Eighteen ASD participants, ages 5–9 years, were divided into two equal intervention groups—one received metacognitive guidance, and one did not. An eye-contact assessment was conducted pre-intervention and post-intervention by tracing the children’s head and eye movements using a built-in laptop camera. The intervention included six 30-min sessions in which the participants played a computer game (C-Me) that required them to make eye contact with cartoon characters who needed assistance in solving a problem or completing a task. The results indicate that the technological intervention effectively promoted eye contact among all participants, especially those in the metacognitive intervention group.