Browsing by Subject "Joint attention"

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Joint attention initiations in children with autism : using a video modeling intervention to teach showing
(2013-12) White, Pamela Jean; O'Reilly, Mark F.
Children with autism exhibit deficits in joint attention initiations, which are crucial to development of language and social skills (Bakeman & Adamson, 1984; Rollins, Wambacq, Mathews, & Reese, 1998; Whalen, Schreibman, & Ingersoll, 2006). Showing an object to a communication partner is an example of a joint attention initiation. A systematic synthesis of interventions targeting joint attention initiations was conducted to guide the development of an intervention for teaching showing behavior. In this study, a video modeling intervention was implemented with four young children with autism. Sessions were conducted during play sessions with the researcher in each participant’s typical therapy context. Following a prescribed baseline, the video modeling intervention was implemented. The video provided a model of an individual showing a toy to a communication partner with narration explaining the four components of the showing behavior: gaining the partner’s attention, making eye contact, extending the toy toward the partner, and commenting on the toy. Following the first four intervention sessions, verbal feedback and practice was added with the video model. The effects of this intervention on accuracy (percentage of components completed) and frequency of showing behavior and generalization to a small group setting with peers were evaluated using a multiple baseline across design across participants. Results indicate that accuracy and frequency of showing behavior increased when the video modeling intervention was implemented. The acquisition, performance, and generalization of showing behavior in relation to the video modeling intervention are discussed. Implications for teaching joint attention initiations and directions for future research are presented.
Social Spectrum : understanding the incremental development of social skills in infants at-risk for autism
(2019-08-07) Dowd, Alexandra Catherine; Neal, A. Rebecca; Woolley, Jacqueline D.; Echols, Catharine H.; Hixon, John G.
Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a neurological developmental disorder, characterized by difficulties with social communication and interactions. Social functioning varies within ASD as well as in neurotypical development (known as the Social Spectrum). This dissertation investigated the origins and incremental development of four social skills, and in particular, how social development differs across the Social Spectrum. This project assesses: 1) how four specific social skills develop independently and in relation to each other over time, and 2) the consequences of early social impairment on the development of these skills. Utilizing a longitudinal prospective study design, 40 infants at high- and low-risk of ASD (i.e., with or without a sibling with ASD) were evaluated at 12, 15, and 18 months, during a period when social skills are emerging and social impairment becomes apparent. First, individual skill development was evaluated over time and across the Social Spectrum using linear-mixed effects models. Results indicated that from 12 to 18 months: 1) certain joint attention skills are increasing over time, 2) social orienting skills varied across the Social Spectrum, and 3) development of certain response to distress reactions varied over time across the Social Spectrum. Secondly, the development of skills in relation to each other at each visit and over time was assessed, as well as how these interrelations differed based on the Social Spectrum. Key findings suggested that: 1) greater responding to joint attention is related to faster helping behaviors at and across 12 to 18 months, and 2) interrelations of the Social Spectrum, social orienting, and initiating joint attention at 15 months were related to helping at 18 months, such that greater social impairment and reduced initiating joint attention skills at 15 months were related to reduced social orienting at 15 months which was associated with slower latencies to offer help at 18 months. Investigating the incremental progression of social development and the diversion from development helps provides the target areas crucial for the early identification of and interventions for ASD.
Synchrony and joint attention development in infancy : a transactional approach
(2012-12) Gamber, Bridget Catherine; Neal, A. Rebecca; Woolley, Jacqueline
Joint attention is an early emerging skill that plays a critical role in early child development (Moore & Dunham, 1995). This shared engagement facilitates language acquisition (e.g., Morales et al., 1998) and predicts social cognition in early childhood (Van Hecke et al., 2007). Thus, it is important to understand factors contributing to individual differences in joint attention development. One potential predictor is mother-infant synchrony, the extent to which mothers’ verbal and nonverbal input is contingent upon their infants’ focus (Siller & Sigman, 2002). Researchers found synchrony to be positively associated with the rate of language development (Akhtar et al., 1991). However, few studies have examined mother-infant synchrony longitudinally and whether synchrony influences individual differences in joint attention. The present study is one of the first to examine these relationships in depth prospectively. Twenty typically-developing infants (11 male) and their mothers participated at approximately 9, 12, and 15 months of age as part of a larger longitudinal study of infants at risk for Autism Spectrum Disorders. Each dyad engaged in a 15-minute unstructured play session, which was coded for synchrony (Siller & Sigman, 2002). In addition, researchers administered the Early Social Communication Scales (ESCS; Mundy et al., 2003) with the infant, which was coded for Initiating Joint Attention (IJA) and Responding to Joint Attention (RJA). The results suggest that synchrony was stable within dyads across 9, 12, and 15 months. Surprisingly, higher 9-month synchrony was correlated with lower 12-month RJA. Growth curve modeling revealed significant growth in RJA, but not IJA, over time. However, synchrony scores did not significantly predict growth in IJA or RJA over time as predicted. These preliminary results suggest that synchrony is a relatively stable construct that likely reflects true differences between mother-infant dyads. Mothers following their child’s lead more often at 9 months had infants exhibiting less RJA at 12 months. Contrary to our predictions, there were no other significant associations between synchrony and joint attention. These findings will be reexamined upon collection of additional data. Nonetheless, the current study helps to elucidate the nature of synchrony and joint attention over time in infancy.
Transactional analyses of early parent-child interaction and social communication development in typically developing children and those at risk for Autism Spectrum Disorder
(2016-08) Davidson, Bridget Catherine Gamber; Neal, A. Rebecca; Woolley, Jacqueline; Echols, Catharine; Levine, Ann; Hixon, John G
The transactional model (Sameroff, 1975) supports the notion that bidirectional influences of the child and his/her early caregiving environment have a profound impact on child development. Thus, it behooves researchers to consider child and parent characteristics, as well as parent-child dynamics, which might lead to more or less optimal developmental trajectories. This dissertation used a transactional approach to study synchrony during early childhood. In this collection of studies, synchrony is defined as the degree to which a parent’s nonverbal and verbal communication follows or redirects their child’s focus of attention and action during play (Siller & Sigman, 2002). Parent-child dyads engaged in an unstructured free play session with a standardized set of toys, which was later coded for Synchrony (Siller & Sigman, 2002, 2008). 1) The first study included typically developing toddlers and their mothers. It tested associations between synchrony and the Emotional Availability (EA) Scales (Biringen, 2008), and also explored associations between synchrony, EA, child temperament, and toddlers’ joint attention abilities. 2) The second study included mothers and typically developing infants. It longitudinally explored the stability of synchrony from 9 to 18 months and whether synchrony predicted individual differences in the development of joint attention from 9 to 18 months and language at 24 months. 3) The third study included mothers and infants with an older sibling with autism (sibs-ASD) or without autism (sibs-TD). It assessed whether certain parent and child characteristics (e.g., parenting stress, infant temperament) contribute to individual differences in synchrony at 12 and 15 months. This body of work helps to: establish the stability of synchrony in early childhood, distinguish synchrony and EA parent-child interaction measures, clarify how synchrony is related to the development of nonverbal and verbal communication, and identify certain parent and child factors that predict individual differences in synchrony.