Difficulties in processing emotional facial expressions is considered a central characteristic of children with autism spectrum condition (ASC). In addition, there is a growing interest in the use of virtual avatars capable of expressing emotions as an intervention aimed at improving the social skills of these individuals. One potential use of avatars is that they could enhance facial recognition and guide attention. However, this aspect needs further investigation. The aim of our study is to assess differences in eye gaze processes in children with ASC when they see avatar faces expressing emotions compared to real faces. Eye-tracking methodology was used to compare the performance of children with ASC between avatar and real faces. A repeated-measures general linear model was adopted to understand which characteristics of the stimuli could influence the stimuli’s fixation times. Survival analysis was performed to understand differences in exploration behaviour between avatar and real faces. Differences between emotion recognition accuracy and the number of fixations were evaluated through a paired t-test. Our results confirm that children with autism have higher capacities to process and recognize emotions when these are presented by avatar faces. Children with autism are more attracted to the mouth or the eyes depending on the stimulus type (avatar or real) and the emotion expressed by the stimulus. Also, they are more attracted to avatar faces expressing negative emotions (anger and sadness), and to real faces expressing surprise. Differences were not found regarding happiness. Finally, they show a higher degree of exploration of avatar faces. All these elements, such as interest in the avatar and reduced attention to the eyes, can offer important elements in planning an efficient intervention.

处理情感面部表情的困难被认为是患有自闭症谱系状况（ASC）的儿童的主要特征。另外，人们对使用能够表达情感的虚拟化身作为一种旨在提高这些人的社交技能的干预措施的兴趣日益浓厚。化身的一种潜在用途是它们可以增强面部识别能力并引导注意力。但是，这方面需要进一步研究。我们研究的目的是评估与真实面孔相比，当ASC儿童看到虚拟化的面孔表达情感时，他们的视线变化。使用眼动追踪方法比较了ASC儿童在化身和真实面孔之间的表现。采用重复测量的一般线性模型来了解刺激的哪些特征可能会影响刺激的固定时间。进行生存分析以了解化身与真实面孔之间的探索行为差异。情绪识别准确度与注视次数之间的差异通过配对t检验进行了评估。我们的研究结果证实，自闭症儿童通过化身表达情绪时具有更高的处理和识别情绪的能力。根据刺激类型（化身或真实）和刺激表达的情感，自闭症儿童更容易被嘴或眼睛吸引。而且，它们更被表达负面情绪（愤怒和悲伤）的化身面孔和表达惊奇的真实面孔所吸引。没有发现关于幸福的差异。最后，它们显示出对化身脸部的更高程度的探索。所有这些元素，例如对虚拟形象的兴趣和对眼睛的减少的关注，都可以为计划有效的干预提供重要的元素。