Sequential Associations Between Caregiver Talk and Child Play in Autism Spectrum Disorder and Typical Development

Abstract

This study examined sequential associations between child play and caregiver talk in 98 caregiver-child dyads (M = 14 months). Fifty dyads included a child with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Analyses revealed sequential associations between child play and caregiver follow-in (FI) utterances (utterances related to the child's attentional focus) were stronger in the ASD as compared to the typically developing (TD) group. FI utterances were more likely to elicit functional play than caregiver-focused utterances, and more so in the ASD group. Across groups, FI directives were more likely to elicit functional play than FI comments. These findings have important implications for research involving caregiver-child play as an early intervention context for children with ASD.

Bidirectional influences of caregiver utterances and supported joint engagement in children with and without autism spectrum disorder

“…In both cases, associations were present even after controlling for LSJE or LSJE that co-occurred with follow-in utterances, respectively. In a follow-up study, we found that HSJE that co-occurred with follow-in utterances mediated the association between early expressive and later receptive vocabulary, but only for children with ASD and not children with TD (Bottema-Beutel et al, 2017). This suggests that particular child abilities (e.g., expressive vocabulary) may recruit caregivers to talk about their child’s focus of attention during HSJE, and that this particular format of caregiver-child engagement may be more critical for receptive vocabulary development in children with ASD as compared to children who are TD.…”

“…This study is part of a series of studies that have attempted to refine our understanding of the interplay between caregiver-child joint engagement, caregiver talk, and child development in children with ASD and TD who are just beginning to speak (Bottema-Beutel et al, 2014; Bottema-Beutel, Malloy et al, 2017; Bottema-Beutel, Woynaroski, et al, 2017). Our first study (Bottema-Beutel et al, 2014) suggested that supported joint engagement (SJE), previously shown to be a superior predictor of language in comparison to other forms of joint engagement, could be separated into two distinct subtypes.…”

The stability of joint engagement states in infant siblings of children with and without ASD: Implications for measurement practices

“…In contrast, LSJE may have been quite stable in the siblings Sibs‐ASD group because these caregivers may have consistently felt compelled to provide scaffolding for their child to jointly engage, whether or not the child was demonstrating reciprocity. Prior research has demonstrated that caregivers of children with ASD are more responsive to their children's interactional needs in free play contexts than caregivers of children who are TD [Bottema‐Beutel, Lloyd, et al, ; Bottema‐Beutel, Malloy, Lloyd, Watson, & Yoder, ]. This responsiveness may extend to the consistency of their efforts to engage their child within LSJE.…”

A year in words: The dynamics and consequences of language experiences in an intervention classroom

“…It is possible that conversational turn-taking may index an increase in caregiver’s sensitivity to the child’s focus of attention and responsivity to the developmental level of their vocalization [ 51 , 52 ]. If so, the content of what an adult says in the context of shared attention and conversation could be more relevant and more learnable to the child than the content of adult vocalizations outside of shared attention and conversation [ 53 , 54 ].…”