Adaptation and Automation of a Cancellation Test for Evaluation of Exploratory Visual Behavior

Tests that evaluate the individual strategies of visual exploration may be useful for characterizing deviations from typical development, such as autism spectrum disorder and dyslexia. One subgroup of visual exploration tests, called cancellation tests, require the identification of specific targets surrounded by distractors. However, the lack of automated versions of these tests limit their availability to a larger audience. In the present paper, we present an automated version of a cancellation test: the car test. The test is designed to be used by specialists and to be user-friendly optimizing its application and the analysis of collected data. We evaluated the car test in a group of 6-9 y.o. infants enrolled in a private school. The results suggest the car test is effective in providing information about visual exploration strategies of infants and is in agreement with the results of similar tests found in the literature.