When we began this study it was relatively well-established that about 50% of young children with ASD establish secure attachments to their mothers, but very little was known about the role of parenting in promoting secure attachment in this group. We proposed that insightfulness, the capacity to see and feel things from the child's point of view, would be associated with secure attachment in children with ASD in the same way as in Typcially Developing children. An additional focus was on the importance of the mothers coming to terms (or "resolving") the diagnosis of a developmental disability in the child. Finally, we sought to establish that the effects of Insightfulness and Resolution on children's security are mediated through mothers observed sensitivity. The findings largely supported our hypotheses and are summarized in the papers below.

The study team included Prof. David Oppenheim, Prof. Nina Koren-Karie, Prof. Nurit Yirmiya, Dr. Smadar Dolev and many MA students.