Elena Esposito¹, Vanessa Harwood¹, Alisa Baron¹; ¹University of Rhode Island

The Broad Autism Phenotype (BAP) refers to traits that resemble those of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), commonly seen in first-degree relatives of individuals with ASD suggesting a potential genetic contribution. Understanding how these traits manifest in communication remains limited. Previous research has shown differences in eye gaze patterns between children with and without ASD. This study explores whether similar patterns exist in parents of children with autism (pASD) during a phonemic restoration task. The Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS) and Broad Autism Phenotype Questionnaire (BAPQ) were also used to assess ASD-like traits related to social communication.The study involved 38 adults (both pASD and controls) in the U.S. Participants viewed a speaking face producing a consistent visual /ba/ sound, while the audio alternated between /ba/ and /a/, creating a phonemic restoration effect as the participants “fill in” missing phonemes based on context and linguistic expectations. Using linear mixed-effects models, preliminary eye gaze patterns to the eyes and mouth/jaw areas of 7 pairs of participants indicated no significant differences between groups. Independent sample t-tests revealed a trend toward significance for group differences in SRS scores (p = .06), with the pASD group scoring higher and no significant group difference was observed in BAPQ scores (p = .66). Although no significant group differences were found in eye gaze patterns or social communication traits, the study contributes to a deeper understanding of the BAP. Further analysis with a larger sample size may reveal more nuanced, significant findings.