Validation of the Pictorial Infant Communication Scale for preschool-aged children with autism spectrum disorder.
A 10-minute parent picture checklist validly flags joint-attention gaps in preschoolers with ASD and tracks change after intervention.
01Research in Context
What this study did
The team asked parents to fill out a 10-minute picture checklist. The checklist shows photos of kids sharing eye-gaze, pointing, and showing toys.
They checked if the scores matched direct clinic tests of joint attention in preschoolers with autism.
What they found
The parent checklist scores lined up well with the direct tests. The tool also showed three clear skill groups: looking, pointing, and showing.
Internal consistency was strong, meaning items within each group hung together.
How this fits with other research
MacDonald et al. (2006) used a 15-minute direct-observation protocol to count joint-attention bids. The new parent checklist gives a quicker, still-valid snapshot of the same skills.
Mundy et al. (2016) found that higher-functioning school-age kids with ASD still show joint-attention memory gaps. The preschool scale can catch these problems earlier, before school.
Lawton et al. (2012) showed that joint-attention interventions improve shared smiles and words. The checklist offers an easy way to track those same improvements after treatment.
Why it matters
You can now screen joint-attention deficits during intake without extra clinic time. Hand the parent the 10-minute Pictorial Infant Communication Scale while you prep materials. Use the score to decide if direct observation or intervention is needed, and re-use it later to show parents clear progress.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
Joint attention, or the shared focus of attention between objects or events and a social partner, is a crucial milestone in the development of social communication and a notable area of deficit in children with autism spectrum disorder. While valid parent-report screening measures of social communication are available, the majority of these measures are designed to assess a wide range of behaviors. Targeted assessment of joint attention and related skills is primarily limited to semi-structured, examiner-led interactions, which are time-consuming and laborious to score. The Pictorial Infant Communication Scale is an efficient parent-report measure of joint attention that can be used as a complement to structured assessments in fully characterizing early social communication development. This study examined the psychometric properties of the Pictorial Infant Communication Scale. Results revealed a high degree of internal consistency and strong intercorrelations between subscales. Additionally, confirmatory factor analysis supported a three-factor model of joint attention. Furthermore, significant correlations between the Pictorial Infant Communication Scale and direct clinical measures of child joint attention, language skills, and autism spectrum disorder symptom severity were suggestive of concurrent validity. Findings suggest that the Pictorial Infant Communication Scale is a promising tool for measuring joint attention skills in preschool-aged children with autism spectrum disorder.
Autism : the international journal of research and practice, 2017 · doi:10.1177/1362361316636757