The Early Development of Joint Attention in Infants with Autistic Disorder Using Home Video Observations and Parental Interview

Abstract

The aim in the current study was to investigate the early development of joint attention, eye contact and affect during the first 2 years of life, by using retrospective parental interviews and analyses of home videos of infants who were later diagnosed with Autistic Disorder (AD). The 36 children with AD and the 27 matched control children were all aged between 3 and 5 years at recruitment. Reported anomalies in gaze and affect emerged in the children with AD as early as the first 6 months of life, generally becoming more severe just prior to the second birthday. Video data confirmed these anomalies from as early as the first year. Joint attention impairments were found throughout the second year of life. The results suggest that early dyadic behaviours-eye contact and affect-may play a role in the joint attention impairment in AD.

What can autism teach us about the role of sensorimotor systems in higher cognition? New clues from studies on language, action semantics, and abstract emotional concept processing

“…These speak of deficits such as in handwriting (Kushki, Chau, & Anagnostou, 2011) and (relatedly) fine-precision grip (David, Baranek, Wiesen, Miao, & Thorpe, 2012); in postural stability (Molloy, Dietrich, & Bhattacharya, 2003) and as documented in the studies above, gait (Esposito & Venuti, 2008;VernazzaMartin et al, 2005;Vilensky, Damasio, & Maurer, 1981); of akinesia, dyskinesia and bradykinesia (Damasio & Maurer,6 Motor symptoms are not the only symptoms that appear in the first year of life; we refer the interested reader to several other papers which point out early abnormalities in social orientation among other symptoms in the first year of life (Clifford & Dissanayake, 2008;Clifford et al, 2013;Clifford, Young, & Williamson, 2007;Dawson et al, 2004;Maestro, Muratori, Barbieri et al, 2001; 1978; Maurer & Damasio, 1982); and finally of hand dystonia and facial grimacing (Wing, 1981).…”

A Prospective Study of the Emergence of Early Behavioral Signs of Autism

“…[1][2][3][4][5][6] Differences are most evident in the second year of life 7 but some studies have detected signs of ASD before the first birthday. 1,5,8 This early onset pattern is thought to occur in the majority of individuals with ASD.…”

“…[1][2][3][4][5][6] Differences are most evident in the second year of life 7 but some studies have detected signs of ASD before the first birthday. 1,5,8 This early onset pattern is thought to occur in the majority of individuals with ASD.In the regressive pattern of onset, children appear to be developing typically for a year or longer, but then lose communication and social skills that they had previously acquired. Retrospective studies using both parent report and home videotape analysis have documented losses in a wide range of social communicative behaviors.…”

Joint Attention and Occupations for Children and Families Living with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Scoping Review

“…there is a shared attentional focus between oneself, a social partner, and a common object or event (Chiang, Chu, & Lee, 2016). Dyadic behaviors are typically thought of as precursor behaviors to JA that emerge in the first year of life and include eye contact and affect, while triadic behaviors constitute a higher-level skill set of JA, such as gaze switching, pointing, giving, and initiating requests (Clifford & Dissanayake, 2008;Kasari, Gulsrud, Wong, Kwon, & Locke, 2010). Both dyadic and triadic behaviors are thought to contribute to the development of JA skills.…”