Teaching Children with Autism to Respond to Joint Attention Initiations

ABSTRACT

Children with autism fail to develop joint attention skills appropriate to developmental age. Joint attention is a predictor of ability in several core domains of autism including language, social development, affective sharing, and theory of mind capacity, thus establishing the significance of teaching joint attention. However, there is limited research to assist clinicians with methods to teach this skill. The present study used a multiple baseline with reversal design across three children to examine the effectiveness of a training program to teach children with autism to respond to successively more demanding joint attention initiations given by adults. Consistent with previous research, during baseline, all participants demonstrated low levels of joint attention skills. Following intervention, independent responses to joint attention bids were observed for all three participants. These findings support previous reports suggesting that behavioral intervention may facilitate the development of joint attention skills. An assessment before baseline and following treatment indicated no change in initiating joint attention skills, indicating that clinicians may have to teach these skills independently.

KEYWORDS:

• Joint attention
• autism
• applied behavior analysis
• children