Naturalistic observations of spontaneous communication in autistic children.
In real classrooms, autistic kids mainly use body moves to ask or get attention, and non-speakers need the most joint-attention help.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Researchers watched autistic children in regular school rooms. They wrote down every time a child started communication on their own.
They noted who the child looked at, what they wanted, and if they used words, gestures, or body moves.
Kids were grouped by how well they spoke and how severe their autism seemed.
What they found
Most unprompted messages were body moves toward the teacher. Kids asked for items or asked for looks.
Children who did not speak showed the biggest gaps in joint attention. They rarely pointed to share interest.
Higher-thinking children used more words. More severe autism meant fewer shared moments.
How this fits with other research
SPettingell et al. (2022) counted again 32 years later. They found about eight starts in twelve minutes, matching the old picture but giving you a clear minute-by-minute goal.
Chiang (2008) widens the lens. Half of non-verbal pupils also used challenging behavior to ask or refuse. Treat those acts as communication, not trouble.
Keen (2005) shows what happens when a bid fails. Minimally verbal kids repeat, swap, or add loud sounds. Plan teaching around these repair moves.
Jahr et al. (2007) adds a peer benchmark. In inclusive kindergartens, autistic children start far less than typical classmates. Use typical rates as your social target.
Why it matters
You now know two things: expect mostly motoric requests toward adults, and watch for missing joint attention in non-speakers. Use the minute rate from SPettingell et al. (2022) to set goals. Treat challenging behavior and repair attempts as teachable moments. Push joint attention first for non-speakers; it underpins later language and social growth.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
Thirty children with autism were observed during their everyday school activities in order to examine patterns of spontaneous communication. The forms, functions, and targets of their communication were recorded by trained observers. The prototypical communicative event consisted of a child directing a motoric form of communication toward the teacher to request something or to attract attention to himself or herself. However, communication patterns were found to vary as a function of the child's cognitive level and severity of autism. Deficits in joint attention functions were observed, and were most striking in the subgroup of children who did not use speech. Results are discussed with reference to Wetherby's (1986) model for the development of communicative functions in autistic children.
Journal of autism and developmental disorders, 1990 · doi:10.1007/BF02216051