Joint Engagement in Mother-Child Dyads of Autistic and Non-Autistic Children Among Asian Indian Tamil Speaking Families.
Tamil-speaking autistic preschoolers spend far more time unengaged or object-engaged than peers, even when mothers actively attempt interaction.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Krupa et al. (2024) watched Tamil-speaking mother-child pairs at home. They compared autistic preschoolers with two groups of non-autistic peers.
Trained coders scored every second of play for joint engagement states. They noted who looked where and who did what.
What they found
Autistic children spent far less time in coordinated joint engagement. They looked more at toys than at people.
Even when mothers tried hard, the kids stayed unengaged or object-locked. Mothers used different timing and tone than mothers of non-autistic kids.
How this fits with other research
Plant et al. (2007) first saw lower nonverbal reciprocity in lab chats. The Tamil home data echo this, showing the same gap during everyday play.
Ashtari et al. (2021) found Iranian mothers of autistic preschoolers were extra-responsive when children prompted them. Murugesan saw the same maternal boost, proving the pattern crosses cultures.
Saravanaperumal et al. (2025) used the same Tamil sample and showed these kids also tell shorter, simpler stories. Less shared engagement now looks linked to weaker narrative skill.
Why it matters
If a child stays object-locked, do not wait for eye contact. Model toy play first, then tap the toy near your face. When the child glances, name the action fast. This tiny loop can build coordinated states minute by minute.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
This study profiled various levels of engagement and related communication behaviours among 50 Asian Indian Tamil autistic children (AUT) and their mothers. The interaction was compared with two groups of mother-child dyads of non-autistic (NA) children, 50 in each group, matched for chronological age (CA), and for language level (LL). Results indicated that despite mother's efforts to engage with their children, autistic children were often 'engaged with objects' or remained 'unengaged' due to children's preference for solitary play, while NA children were often engaged in 'co-ordinated' and 'people engagement'. Across the three groups, mothers predominantly took the lead and dominated the interaction, irrespective of children's language levels. These initiations by the mothers were often to provide instructions and to ask 'What' questions. Autistic children initiated communication predominantly to ask for an object and responded often in the form of negations and protests with limited verbal output or non-verbally. Most of the communication behaviours of both children and mothers in AUT group was quantitatively and qualitatively different when compared to those in both the NA groups, indicating unique nature of interactions despite matching for CA or LL. The observations from the study highlights the need for considering adult's contingent behaviours also, while assessing communication skills of autistic children in order to provide effective intervention.
Journal of autism and developmental disorders, 2024 · doi:10.1007/s10803-023-06062-y