Supervision of children with an autism spectrum disorder in the context of unintentional injury

Despite high rates of severe medically attended injuries, a thorough understanding of the correlates of injury for children with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is currently lacking. The present study sought to determine the effect of an ASD diagnosis, self-reported supervision styles, and supervisor characteristics on behavioral supervisory responses in childhood injury risk scenarios. Objective eye tracking methodology was utilized to allow for greater precision during measurement of behavioral responses exhibited by 161 young adults between the ages of 18 and 26 years old. Multivariate analyses revealed that participants engaged in more effective child monitoring strategies when asked to imagine that children they were viewing were diagnosed with an ASD, p < .01, η2 = .07; however, effects diminished when self-reported knowledge of developmental norms, supervision styles, and general stress were statistically controlled. Caregiver characteristics were also interdependent with child gender in relation to differential behavioral supervision responses. Overall, results suggest that idiographic perspectives on supervision and child safety predict the speed of caregiver intervention responses and differential supervisory monitoring behavior. Implications are discussed with emphasis on adult-mediated injury prevention programs emphasizing the quantitative and qualitative aspects of caregiver supervision for individuals with an ASD in home, residential, and school settings.

► Caregiver supervision responses were assessed using eye-tracking methodology.
► ASD group responded faster in injury risk scenarios compared to the control group.
► ASD group also monitored children better than the control group.
► Group differences diminished when controlling for caregiver beliefs and stress.
► Caregiver supervision behavior was interdependent with child gender.