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| Assessment and Treatment of Joint Attention in Young Children with Autism |
| Friday, May 22, 2009 |
| 6:00 PM–9:00 PM |
| North 129 B |
| Area: AUT/DDA; Domain: Applied Behavior Analysis |
| CE Instructor: Robert K. Ross, Ed.D., BCBA, Ed.D. |
| REBECCA P. F. MACDONALD (The New England Center for Children), Diana E. Parry-Cruwys (The New England Center for Children), Heejean G. Yang (The New England Center for Children) |
| Description: Joint attention has received increased attention in developmental psychology and behavior analysis because of its relation to autism. Joint attention involves the coordinated attention between a social partner and an object in the environment and has been identified as one of the earliest emerging social behaviors in typically developing children. Deficits in joint attention are apparent in very young children with autism. The purpose of this session will be to present a model for evaluating children’s responsiveness to the joint attention bids of an adult (RJA), as well as their initiation of joint attention with an adult (IJA). We will describe a contingency analysis of joint attention in which the characteristic gaze shifts, gestures, and vocalizations, are shaped and maintained by conditioned socially mediated reinforcers. According to this analysis, joint attention deficits in children with autism may be related to failures of socially mediated consequences to function as conditioned reinforcers. The session will include components of a curriculum developed to teach joint attention skills to children with autism. Case examples of intervention procedures to establish joint attention initiations will be presented. The research and curriculum will be discussed in the context of the posited behavioral contingency analysis of joint attention. |
| Learning Objectives: 1. Define joint attention as it relates to social and communication deficits in children with autism.
2. Describe a curriculum sequence to teach joint attention.
3. Describe a contingency analysis for the development of joint attention |
| Activities: a. Joint attention has received increased attention in developmental psychology and behavior analysis because of its relation to autism. Joint attention involves the coordinated attention between a social partner and an object in the environment and has been identified as one of the earliest emerging social behaviors in typically developing children. Deficits in joint attention are apparent in very young children with autism. The purpose of this session will be to present a model for evaluating children’s responsiveness to the joint attention bids of an adult (RJA), as well as their initiation of joint attention with an adult (IJA). We will describe a contingency analysis of joint attention in which the characteristic gaze shifts, gestures, and vocalizations, are shaped and maintained by conditioned socially mediated reinforcers. According to this analysis, joint attention deficits in children with autism may be related to failures of socially mediated consequences to function as conditioned reinforcers. The session will include components of a curriculum developed to teach joint attention skills to children with autism. Case examples of intervention procedures to establish joint attention initiations will be presented. The research and curriculum will be discussed in the context of the posited behavioral contingency analysis of joint attention. |
| Audience: Behavior therapists, psychologists, speech and language pathologists, graduate students |
| Content Area: Practice |
| Instruction Level: Basic |