Elsevier

Research in Developmental Disabilities

Volume 29, Issue 6, November–December 2008, Pages 595-609
Research in Developmental Disabilities

Functional training for initiating joint attention in children with autism

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ridd.2007.10.001Get rights and content

Abstract

The present study aimed to examine the controlling variables for initiating joint attention (IJA) in three children with autism. During the baseline, target objects were presented in a location where the child could see them, but the adult could not, and the emergence of IJA was assessed. Children with autism showed some IJA skills during the baseline, but none initiated pointing. In training, the motivating operation for IJA was manipulated by using each child's preferred materials as targets of joint attention. It was found that more frequent and functional joint attention behaviors were emitted following training. The present study suggests that difficulties in IJA in children with autism could be partly explained by restricted interests in children with autism.

Section snippets

Participants

Three Japanese children with autism (two boys and one girl) participated in the present study. All three children met the DSM-IV criteria (DSM-IV; American Psychiatric Association, 1994) for autistic disorder, diagnosed either by a pediatrician or psychologist independent of our laboratory. Prior to the study, all participants were assessed with the Kyoto Scale of Psychological Development 2001 (KSPD; Ikuzawa, Matsushita, & Nakase, 2002), a standardized scale measuring development and adaptive

Results

Performance is shown separately for each of the three children with autism during baseline, training, probe tests, and follow-up in Fig. 2.

Discussion

The purpose of the present study was to examine the variables controlling functional IJA responses in children with autism. Prior to training, all three children diagnosed with autism showed deficient levels of IJA behaviors. The children's initial IJA responses involved touching and shaking the hands of the adult, gaze shifts between the target and the adult, and vocal responses. In addition, although this response was not included in the coding, all three children were observed using their

Acknowledgements

This research was supported by a Grant-in-Aid for JSPS Fellows (167608), the Japan Agency of Science and Technology (JST)/CREST, and construction of an integrated method for understanding of the mind (COE 21st Century Project, Ministry of Science and Education). We would like to thank all the children and their parents who participated in this research. We also thank Ms. Y. Hara, N. Kikuchi, H. Kuma, K. Yamamoto, and Y. Takeuchi for assistance with the experiments.

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