How to Get a Young Child with ASD to Attend
Joint Attention is two people sharing the same point of attention. It is being in the same moment at the same time. It is a basic skill for learning - EVERYTHING. Think of joint attention as the wall that supports Humpty Dumpty. The wall holds Humpty up, until of course, someone pushes him off.
- My first lesson in Joint Attention
I learned this from my daughter, Katie, when she was eighteen months old. It was a Thursday afternoon in 1974. I was reading a book on a snowy day in Missouri. Doug, 3-and-a-half years old, was playing with an object repeatedly, as he did most days. He was content and being himself with ASD. Katie walked and talked early and liked control. She wanted what Doug had.
"Doug, Doug, Doug." Katie was calling her brother. He didn't look. He didn't respond.
I sat silent on the couch as I watched the scene unfold.
"Doug, Doug." Katie didn't accept Doug's lack of response. She marched over to Doug's side, put her face up to his and announced, "My turn," as she pulled the treasure from his hands. That seemed to elicit their joint attention.
The point of My First Lesson
It is not that I, the parent, had not been getting my son's attention, but it was important to see this in action from another child and just how Katie made Doug respond. From that moment on, I never accepted Doug's non-responsive mode. The expectation for a response to everything was now in place and the term "joint attention" had not been coined at that time.
Strategies to Elicit Joint Attention (these range for severe to mild ASD; keep in mind we are discussing young children in this blog)
- Adult moves into the child's space: This sounds easy but it's touchy. You can alienate the child very easily. You must move slowly and gently.
- Auditory or visual stimulus: I use clickers, clapping, various light gadgets, flash lights, laser light, light-up pens, musical/light-up balls, musical instruments, and giggle sticks (kids' favorite).
- Bubbles: Bubbles are my personal favorite. I could tell you story after story about kiddos who didn't say a word until bubbles became a regular part of their therapy. If I could take only three items in my therapy bag, they would be bubbles, a mirror, and my Smurfs (I call it Smurfology). Bubbles afford a therapist attending, turn taking, visual tracking, prepositions (big/little, on/off), colors (in the bubbles), oral motor exercises, articulation skills for early consonants (/p/, /b/), and laughter.
Be sure to use a bubble pipe like this one. Use my Golden Rule and hold it up by your face, getting the child's attention. Do a "Bubble Dance" together.
Refer to my "Bubble Head" poem in the blog entry, "Where Do I Find Success with Non-Verbal Johnny?"
- Tickling: It's fun. It's funny. It's touching. It's connecting. It's shared laughter. I do this at the end of the therapy session rather than at the beginning.
- Finger Plays: I love these. Here's a website that has oodles of Finger Plays for Young Children. I always like it when I have another set of adult's hands to sit behind the kiddo and pattern their little hands with a group or an individual as the leader shows the finger play.
- Mirror My main caution is that the young child with ASD does not use this as a self-stimulation device - that can and does happen, you know. I find one of the most beneficial positions, when using a mirror, is to have the adult sit behind the child. This gives a reflective image as well as the same-side image as the child.
I positioned myself behind Kevin and Humpty. We all smiled.
Your turn to share with all of us what your favorite Joint Attention activity is for young children with ASD. I look forward to hearing many of your ideas.
After all...
"Speech pathologists make good things happen."