Issues Establishing Joint Attention/Interaction with Others

Language assessment strategies 

• Preschool Language Scale 5th Edition (PLS-5)

  • The PLS-5 can be used to assess joint attention because it looks at the play-based interactions of the child whether it is with the clinician or the child's caregiver. The child will be responding to stimuli that the clinician provides thus resulting in joint attention tasks. 

    • Strength: Joint attention starts to occur between 3 and 6 months of age. The PLS-5 is able to be used at birth until 7 years old which is beneficial as it can assess joint attention when it starts to occur, as well as reassessment when it is fully established.

    • Weakness: Children may not always be exposed to certain toys or objects, so their test performance has the potential to be affected due to lack of exposure/prior knowledge.

• Rosetti Infant-Toddler Language Scale

  • The Rosetti can be used to assess joint attention because it assesses the communicative behaviors that infants 0 to 36 months of age exhibit. This assessment also includes the caregiver which can give the clinician a closer look at the joint attention shared by the caregiver and the child.

    • Strength:  The assessment includes the caregiver in addition to their reportings. This is beneficial to the clinician to see in real-time if there are joint attention difficulties, as well as what is going on at home.

    • Weakness: This assessment is not norm-referenced so the clinician is unable to compare scores to equivalent ages, or produce a percentile rank.

Language Intervention Approaches

• Behavior Modification Procedures

  • This treatment approach includes teaching children to respond to joint attention by the clinician and then to initiate joint attention with the clinician. 

    • Strength: There are some gains when responding to joint attention and exhibiting coordinated gaze.

    • Weakness: This approach does not include the caregivers, so the skills may not completely generalize outside the speech setting.

• Parent-Mediated Developmental Model

  • This treatment model includes four stages of intervention by focusing on face-to-face interactions with the child and the caregiver to establish joint attention.

    • Strength: This model is a family-centered approach which is beneficial to the child-parent interactions and can benefit children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in establishing joint attention.

    • Weakness: There is no real structure in the techinques, so it is up to the parents to come up with activities. Some parents may benefit more if they have instruction into picking the best activity for their child.

Strategies that can be used within this approach

• “Stay, play, and talk” procedure 

  • use of simple language like “stay close to your friend” to facilitate the grouping of peers with the goal of creating opportunities to socially engage by commenting and asking questions through play

• Eliciting and maintaining a conversation

  • getting the child’s attention before jumping to a subject can be helpful; visuals and motivating activities can be used as facilitators 

• Sharing and suggesting ideas on how to organize play

  • Situations to teach/practice sharing; participating in play by understanding the child’s interests and identifying feelings is important to avoid forced compliance and keep play joyful

• Negotiating and compromising

  • Provides opportunities to model turn-taking

• Asking for clear directions

  • It promotes a better understanding of what a child with joint attention weaknesses wants

• Giving  verbal feedback throughout play/social interaction

  • It can be a manner of expanding dialogue and improving the interaction

References

Donaldson, A. L. (2015). Siblings of children with ASD: Promoting social communication. Perspectives on Language Learning and Education, 22(1), 31–38. https://doi.org/10.1044/lle22.1.31 

Joint attention – what it is and why it matters. Growing Early Minds. (2021, May 18). https://growingearlyminds.org.au/tips/joint-attention/

Project, L. (n.d.). Test review: PLS-5 English. LEADERSproject. https://www.leadersproject.org/2013/11/25/test-review-pls-5-english/

Schertz, H. H., & Odom, S. L. (2006, November 10). Promoting Joint Attention in Toddlers with Autism: A Parent-Mediated Developmental Model. SpringerLink. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10803-006-0290-z 

Therapro, Inc. (n.d.). The Rosetti Infant-Toddler Language Scale. Therapro. https://www.therapro.com/Browse-Category/Comprehensive-Language/The-Rossetti-Infant-Toddler-Language-Scale_2.html 

Vaughan Van Hecke, A., Mundy, P. C., Acra, C. Françoise., Block, J. J., Delgado, C. E., Parlade, M. V., Meyer, J. A., Neal, A. R., & Pomares, Y. B. (2007). Infant Joint Attention, Temperament, and Social Competence in Preschool Children. Child Development, 78(1), 53–69. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8624.2007.00985.x  

Whalen, C., & Schreibman, L. (2003). Joint Attention Training for Children with Autism using Behavior Modification Procedures. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 44(3), 456–468. https://doi.org/10.1111/1469-7610.00135