Visual figure-ground perception involves distinguishing an object from its cluttered background, a key visual skill often assessed in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). In the context of ASD, this ability shows variability, with some children excelling at local details but struggling with holistic integration.
## Performance Patterns
Children with ASD frequently outperform those with mild intellectual disability on visual-motor tasks like copying geometric figures, though they exhibit more rotations, omissions, and misalignment errors in complex shapes. This reflects challenges in maintaining figure coherence despite accurate part reproduction. High-functioning ASD children may show a local bias, focusing on details over the whole, which impacts tasks like the Test of Visual Perceptual Skills (TVPS) Figure Ground subtest.
## Assessment and Implications
Standardized tools like TVPS Figure Ground reveal heightened performance in some ASD individuals, linked to stronger disembedding of small figures from larger ones, but overall heterogeneity exists. These deficits can hinder reading, face recognition, and environmental navigation, compounded by sensory sensitivities like hypersensitivity to lights or patterns. Interventions targeting visual tracking and discrimination may help, as delays here affect social and academic engagement.
