Abstract
The present study was designed to examine the effects of social stimulation on the joint attention behavior of 20 autistic children under 6 years of age, 20 receptive language-matched Down syndrome children, and 20 receptive language matched-normally-developing infants. Children's social and non-social engagement states were measured during two experimental play sessions and during free play with parent. For all groups, joint attention was increased when adult play behavior closely followed and was contingent on the behavior of the children; however, the autistic children were significantly less responsive to the experimental manipulation than control subjects. In contrast, the autistic children were no less responsive in terms of other forms of social engagement. Results are interpreted as supporting a model of joint attention deficits in autism that involves factors inherent to the disorder in transaction with social context.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Adamson, L., & Bakeman, R. (1985). Affect and attention, infants observed with mothers and peers.Child Development, 56, 582–593.
Bakeman, R., & Adamson, L. (1984). Coordinating attention to people and objects in mother-infant and peer-infant interactions.Child Development, 55, 1278–1289.
Bakeman, R., & Adamson, L. (1986). Infants' conventionalized acts: Gestures and words with mothers and peers.Infant Behavior and Development, 9, 215–230.
Bruner, J. (1982). The organization of action and the nature of adult-infant transaction. In E. Tronick (Ed.),Social interchange in infancy: Affect, cognition, and communication. Baltimore: University Park Press.
Cohen, J. (1960). A coefficient of agreement for nominal scales.Education and Psychological Measurement, 20, 37–46.
Courchesne, E., Townsend, J., Akashoomoff, N., Yeung-Courchesne, R., Press, G., & Murakami, J. (in press). A new finding in autism: Impairment in shifting attention. In S. Broman & J. Grafman (Eds.),Impairment in shifting attention in autistic and cerebellar patients. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
Dawson, G., & Adams, A. (1984). Imitation and social responsiveness in autistic children.Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 12, 209–225.
Dawson, G., & Galpert, L. (1990). Mothers' use of imitative play for facilitating social responsiveness in young autistic children.Development and Psychopathology, 2, 151–162.
Dawson, G., & Lewy, A. (1989). Arousal, attention, and the socio-emotional impairments of individuals with autism. In G. Dawson (Ed.),Autism: Perspectives on nature, diagnosis, and treatment. New York: Plenum.
Ferrara, C., & Hill, S. (1980). The responsiveness of autistic children to the predictability of social and nonsocial toys.Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 10, 51–57.
Grofer-Klinger, L., & Dawson, G. (1992). Facilitating social and communicative development in children with autism. In S. Warren & J. Richle (Eds.),Perspectives on communication and language intervention. Baltimore: Brooks.
Hedrick, D., Prather, E., & Tobin, A. (1984).Sequenced Inventory of Communication Development-Revised. Seattle: University of Washington Press.
Hobson, R. (1989). On sharing experiences.Development and Psychopathology, 1, 197–204.
Hutt, S., Hutt, C., Lee, D., & Ounsted, C. (1964). Arousal and childhood autism.Nature, 204, 908–909.
Kasari, C., Mundy, P., & Sigman, M. (1990). Affect sharing in the context of joint attention interactions of normal, autistic, and mentally retarded children.Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 20, 87–100.
Leslie, A., & Happe, F. (1989). Autism and ostensive communication: The role of metarepresentation.Development and Psychopathology, 1, 205–212.
Loveland, K., & Landry, S. (1986). Joint attention and language in autism and developmental language delay.Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 16, 335–348.
Mundy, P., Sigman, M., Ungerer, J., & Sherman, T. (1986). Defining the social deficits of autism: The contribution of non-verbal communication measures.Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 27, 657–669.
Schopler, E., Reichler, R., & Renner, B. (1986). Childhood Autism Rating Scale. New York: Irvington.
Sparrow, S., Tobin, D., & Cicchetti, D. (1986).Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scale. Circle Pines, MN: American Guidance Service.
Tomassello, M., & Farrar, M. (1986). Joint attention and early language.Child Development, 57, 1454–1463.
Wetherby, A., & Prutting, C. (1984). Profiles of communicative and cognitive-social abilities in autistic children.Journal of Speech and Hearing Research, 27, 364–377.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Lewy, A.L., Dawson, G. Social stimulation and joint attention in young autistic children. J Abnorm Child Psychol 20, 555–566 (1992). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00911240
Revised:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00911240