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NCT Number: NCT07377227

Social COgnition Screening

Social cognition refers to the mental processes involved in social interactions, including social perception, motivation, communication, emotion recognition, and theory of mind. Face perception plays a key role in children's social development, but children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) tend to look less at social stimuli, especially faces, than typically developing (TD) peers. Eye-tracking studies highlight these visual exploration differences, linked to difficulties in joint attention, emotion recognition, and theory of mind, as well as in executive and memory functions. Standard diagnostic tests often require active participation and sufficient language, which makes assessment challenging for children with ASD and additional cognitive or language impairments.

This research project investigates how visual activity supports social cognition depending on cognitive and language levels, hypothesizing that eye-tracking can provide useful indicators for ASD screening and diagnosis.

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Key information

Conditions

Eye-tracking Autism Spectrum Disorder Child Development Disorders, Pervasive Diagnosis Disease Mental Disorders Neurodevelopmental Disorders Pathologic Processes Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms Social Cognition

Age range

4 year–10 year

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Not applicable

Primary location

Amiens hospital

Amiens, 80000, France

Location contact

Federica Cilia, MD

CONTACT

[email protected]

33+3 22 66 75 40

Sébastien Garny De La Rivière, MD

SUB_INVESTIGATOR

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: Yes

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

  • ASD Group:
  • Boys or girls diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (based on clinical tools and observations)
  • Aged between 4 and 10 years old
  • Affiliation with a social security scheme
  • Informed consent of those with parental authority
  • DT Group:
  • Boys or girls
  • Aged between 4 and 10
  • Attending school in the Hauts-de-France region
  • Affiliation with a social security scheme
  • Consent of those with parental authority

Exclusion criteria

  • For ASD: Uncorrected visual or auditory impairments.
  • For DT: Intellectual disability, neurological or genetic disorders, autistic traits reported by teachers. The discrepancy between actual age and abilities calculated on the basis of standardised test scores

Treatment and study plan

eye-tracking

Other

eye-tracking

Cognitive assessments

Other

cognitive assessments

Primary outcomes

  1. differences in visual exploration patterns between both groups

    Time frame: 2 years

    Differences in visual exploration patterns between both groups Visual exploration patterns are determined with TOM Test Battery, PPVT-5, Raven's 2 and FEE tests

  2. Classification performance of machine learning algorithms in distinguishing ASD from TD

    Time frame: 2 years

    Classification performance of machine learning algorithms in distinguishing ASD from TD

Secondary outcomes

  1. Correlations between eye-tracking measures and cognitive scores

    Time frame: 2 years

    Eye-tracking patterns are determined with TOM Test Battery, PPVT-5, Raven's 2 and FEE tests

  2. Developmental trajectory analysis in TD children

    Time frame: 2 years

  3. Identification of cognitive subgroups within ASD group

    Time frame: 2 years

Study contacts

Contact information is provided by the study sponsor or research team.

Federica Cilia, MD

CONTACT

[email protected]

33+3 22 66 75 40

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

Centre Hospitalier Universitaire, Amiens

Other

Registry information

Official study title

Evaluation of Social Cognition: A New Screening Approach for Autism

Acronym: ECoS-A

Important dates

Study start
2026
Primary completion
2027
Study completion
2028
First posted
Jan 29, 2026
Registry last updated
Feb 6, 2026

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

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