People with autism usually have difficulty with joint attention. This means that they have trouble following someone's gaze or pointed finger to look at something. Joint attention is important to communication and language learning. Joint attention therapy focuses on improving specific skills related to shared attention,1 such as:
- Pointing
- Showing
- Coordinating looks between a person and an object
Improvements from such treatments can last for years.
- Kasari, C., Gulsrud, A. C., Wong, C., Kwon, S., & Locke, J. (2010). Randomized controlled caregiver mediated joint attention intervention for toddlers with autism. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 40(9), 1045-1056. [top]