01944caa a2200169   4500008004100000022001400041100001600055245008100071260000900152300001100161490002300172520137200195653006601567700002001633773007101653856005001724210629s9999    xx            000 0 und d  a2311-1917  aMili Mathew 0aGaze behaviours in infancy: Rethinking their development as a dynamic system  c2017  a99-108  vVolume 19  Issue 1  aPurpose: Eye gaze is an important element of communication and serves as an index of deficits in atypically developing children. This study examined the development of gaze behaviours in typically-developing infants within the Dynamic Systems framework which stresses variability and nesting in the development of any behaviour.Method: Nine infants (six males and three females) were videotaped during play/interactions with their primary caregiver between the ages of 3–12 months. The video samples were coded for the occurrence of six gaze behaviours. The rates of occurrence of these behaviours were calculated and non-linear methods were used to analyse the data.Result: The growth trajectories of three behaviours revealed non-linear and linear patterns and environment exploration-related behaviours demonstrated an age at which reliable change in the rate of occurrence was seen within the developmental period. Further, correlations in the occurrence of few behaviours indicated that the gaze system exhibits nested growth.Conclusion: These results suggest, with caution, that development in the gaze system is dynamic in nature. Thus, development should not only be viewed as skills achieved by an expected age due to biological maturation, but also as variable skills whose occurrence is dependent on factors such as environmental and parental influences.  aGaze behaviours, Infancy, Development, Dynamic Systems Theory  aManjula Rajanna  aInternational journal of speech & language pathology and audiology  uhttps://doi.org/10.3109/17549507.2016.1143971