Eye-tracking studies on exploration of faces and objects in autism provided important knowledge but only in a constraint condition (chin rest, total time looking at screen not reported), without studying potential differences between subjects with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and controls in spontaneous visual attention toward a screen presenting these stimuli. This study used eye tracking to compare spontaneous visual attention to a screen displaying a face or an object between children with autism and controls in a nonconstraint condition and to investigate the relationship with clinical characteristics in autism group. Time exploring screen was measured during passive viewing of static images of faces or objects. Autistic behaviors were assessed by the CARS and the BSE-R in autism group. In autism group, time exploring face screen and time exploring object screen were lower than in controls and were not correlated with degree of distractibility. There was no interaction between group and type of image on time spent exploring screen. Only time exploring face screen was correlated with autism severity and gaze impairment. Results highlight particularities of spontaneous visual attention toward a screen displaying faces or objects in autism, which should be taken into account in future eye-tracking studies on face exploration. 1. Introduction Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) represents a significant public health concern and their prevalence is 60–70 per 10000 [1]. ASD is a developmental disorder characterized by impairments in communication and social interaction and by repetitive and stereotyped behavior and restricted interests [2]. Some authors suggest that social interaction impairment is linked to face processing impairment [3–5]. Face processing is one of the most studied areas of visual processing in ASD [6], and eye-tracking studies have made a large contribution to research in this field. Many eye-tracking studies focused on exploration strategies of faces in ASD. A consistent finding in eye-tracking studies is less visual exploration of the eyes by individuals with ASD compared to typically developing individuals [7–12], associated in some cases to greater exploration of the mouth [9–11]. Some other eye-tracking studies investigated both visual attention to faces and objects in ASD and control groups [13–15]. While the two first authors found no group differences in visual attention to faces versus objects [13, 14], Rice et al. reported a significantly reduced fixation on faces in ASD compared to controls [15]. Another major contribution of
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