Using A Functional Play Intervention to Increase Joint Attention of School-aged, Non-Verbal Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)

Abstract

The vast majority of joint attention interventions for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are geared toward toddlers and preschoolers as it is an early developmental skill. However, many of the youngsters do not acquire joint attention despite these early interventions and subsequently do not exhibit joint attention later in life. In the current study, we used a multiple baseline design across three school-aged, non-verbal children with ASD, to assess the efficacy of a functional play intervention to increase joint attention. During baseline, all three children demonstrated minimal joint attention and appropriate play. Following baseline, the functional play intervention was presented, which consisted of teaching functional play through modeling. Post-intervention probes demonstrated gains in both joint attention and functional play. Furthermore, these behaviors generalized across person, setting, and stimuli. The results of this study provide evidence that functional play interventions may be a promising approach to teach and promote joint attention for older, school-aged children with ASD.