See what I see, do as I do: promoting joint attention and imitation in preschoolers with autism spectrum disorder.
A short, low-intensity after-hours programme can lift joint attention in preschoolers with autism.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Warreyn et al. (2014) ran a short, after-hours programme for preschoolers with autism.
The goal was to boost joint attention and imitation without long clinic visits.
Kids got the extra training on top of their usual ABA sessions.
What they found
Joint-attention skills jumped compared with kids who kept only their normal therapy.
Imitation got a little better, but only when the team looked at each child alone.
The gains showed that even light doses can move core autism symptoms.
How this fits with other research
Hansen et al. (2018) later handed the same low-dose idea to parents and saw big gains too.
Vassos et al. (2023) and Patton et al. (2020) now go further, using many toys and script fading so skills last and travel to new places.
These newer studies supersede the 2014 work by proving generalisation and maintenance, not just first-time learning.
Why it matters
You do not need a heavy clinic schedule to grow joint attention.
Try slipping brief, playful prompts into car rides, snack time, or park visits.
If the child masters eye-shift and pointing, move to multiple toys and new rooms so the skill sticks.
Get CEUs on This Topic — Free
The ABA Clubhouse has 60+ on-demand CEUs including ethics, supervision, and clinical topics like this one. Plus a new live CEU every Wednesday.
Add five quick joint-attention prompts to your next natural play routine and track eye-shift plus point.
02At a glance
03Original abstract
Since imitation and joint attention are both important abilities for young children and since children with autism spectrum disorder show a range of problems in these domains, imitation and joint attention are important targets for intervention. In this study, we examined the possibility of promoting imitation and joint attention by means of a training programme specifically designed for low-intensity, non-residential treatment. Two matched groups of 18 children each participated in the study. The experimental group, receiving the training programme, improved significantly more on joint attention than the group receiving only treatment as usual. Only the experimental group obtained a significantly higher imitation score during the post-test compared to the pre-test. This study shows that it is possible to promote joint attention with a low-intensity treatment programme. The results concerning imitation are more modest. Future replications should involve measures of stability and generalization.
Autism : the international journal of research and practice, 2014 · doi:10.1177/1362361313493834