Year: 2010
Type: dissertation
Abstract: Background: Joint attention (JA) is selectively and pervasively impaired in \nchildren with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and has been found to link to later \noutcomes in language, theory of mind, play and social development. This study \ninvestigated the effectiveness of a social interactive intervention to improve \ninitiating JA skills in children with ASD. The intervention was based on the \nmirror neuron hypothesis, in that techniques used encouraged the children to take \non their communication partners’ perspective through a process of embodied \nsimulation. Method: Three participants diagnosed with ASD, under the age of 5, \nwere recruited as well as 3 typically developing children for the setting of training \ncriteria. A multiple-baseline design across participants was implemented. Results: \nAll three participants displayed improvements in their ability to initiate JA. Skills \ngeneralized to other settings and communication partners. Improvements were \nobserved by both trained and naïve observers. Conclusions: A social interactive \nmodel, based on the mirror neuron hypothesis, utilizing specific techniques which \nfollow the child’s lead may be used to effectively improve initiating joint attention \n(IJA) in some children with ASD.
Author: Kerry Dos Santos
Language: English
Subfield: Cognitive Neuroscience
Field: Neuroscience
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W62225146