Browsing by Subject "Joint attention"
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Item 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.Item Synchrony and joint attention development in infancy : a transactional approach(2012-12) Gamber, Bridget Catherine; Neal, A. Rebecca; Woolley, JacquelineJoint 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.