Visuospatial skills and intention attribution: A review of the Object Perspective Taking Test and Santa Barbara Sense of Direction questionnaire with Exploratory graph analysis and applications to autism.

Researchers created improved tests to measure spatial skills - how well people understand space and navigate their environment. They tested these tools with autistic and non-autistic people. The study found that autistic participants had more difficulty with tasks involving understanding different perspectives of objects. This research helps us better understand how autistic people process visual and spatial information, which could be important for daily activities like navigation and understanding their surroundings.

This Italian study revised two visuospatial assessment tools - the Object Perspective Taking Test (OPT-r) and Santa Barbara Sense of Direction questionnaire (SBSOD-r) - and examined visuospatial skills in autism. The research involved 254 participants for test validation and compared 13 autistic males with 20 neurotypical males. Exploratory Graph Analysis confirmed the revised tools' structural validity, with OPT-r becoming a 9-item unidimensional scale and SBSOD-r revealing two dimensions: spatial visualization and navigation skills. Preliminary findings showed autistic participants performed significantly lower on the OPT-r, suggesting differences in object perspective-taking abilities.

The study provides validated Italian assessment tools and initial evidence of specific visuospatial processing differences in autism.

Results suggest autistic individuals may benefit from targeted assessment of visuospatial skills, particularly object perspective-taking abilities. The validated assessment tools could help identify specific spatial processing difficulties to inform intervention planning and support strategies for navigation and daily living skills.

Very small autism sample (n=13), all-male participants limiting generalizability, exploratory nature of between-group comparisons, lack of control for potential confounding variables, and preliminary findings requiring replication in larger diverse samples.

Visual-spatial skills are fundamental for navigating the environment and performing daily activities. Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) often exhibit atypical perceptual processing, especially regarding complex visual stimuli and visuo-perceptual abilities. This study aims to revise the Object Perspective Taking Test (OPT) and the Santa Barbara Sense of Direction Scale (SBSOD) in the Italian context and to compare visuospatial skills between individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and individuals from the general population (Control Group; CG). A total of 254 participants (mean age 21.53; 111 males and 143 females) were involved in the test revision process.

Exploratory Graph Analysis (EGA) and Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) confirmed satisfactory structural validity for both tests. The unidimensional structure of the OPT led to the proposal of a revised scale (OPT-r) composed of 9 items. The SBSOD-r revealed a bidimensional solution, distinguishing between spatial visualization and navigation skills. Significant negative correlations were found between OPT-r, spatial visualization, and the total SBSOD-r score.

The tests revised were administered to 13 individuals with ASD (all males; mean age 23.46 ± 8.19, mean IQ 105.00 ± 11.04) and 20 CG individuals (all males; mean age 23.60 ± 5.07, mean IQ 116.2 ± 9.1), who were comparable for relevant demographic variables such as, age and education level. Explorative results showed significant differences in OPT-r scores, indicating lower performance in the ASD group. These findings provide preliminary support for the structural validity of the revised OPT-r and SBSOD-r, and may offer initial insights into the visual-spatial profiles of individuals with ASD, with potential implications for both research and clinical practice.