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Friday, May 8, 2009
Northwest Hall (Chicago Hilton)
3:30 PM
Background: Communication is the act of conveying information, meaning or content to another person through verbal or nonverbal behaviors (Stone & Caro-Martinez, 1990). Children with autism often display delays in developing and appropriately developing some of these communicative acts (Wetherby, Woods, Allen, Cleary, Dickinson & Lord, 2004).
Objectives: The present study describes the effects of treatment on non-verbal communication skills for young children with autism during treatment. Participants in the study were in a randomized-controlled intervention study on joint attention skills with autism with two different treatment groups: joint attention skills treatment group or a comparison treatment group (play skills). The treatment phase lasted 5-6 weeks, on average (Kasari, Freeman, & Paparella, 2006).
Methods: Fifty-two children participated in the study (39 boys, 13 girls). Each child was videotaped during a generalized play interaction with the therapist every third day of treatment. Each of the generalized play interactions was coded for the type of communicative act and the function of that communicative act. Two composite variables were used: Total Joint Attention (JA) Composite and Total Behavior Regulation (BR) Composite. Total JA Composite is the summation of the frequency of all the child-initiated joint attention skills (points, gives, shows, and coordinated joint looks). Total BR Composite is the summation of the frequency of all the child-initiated behavior regulation skills (reach, point, give, and coordinated joint look).
Results: For joint attention skills, there was a significant effect of time (F=7.96, p=0.001), and a significant interaction between time and group (F=6.13, p=0.03). Participants were then split into two language groups (low- and high-language) based on receptive language ages from the Reynell Developmental Language Scales at program entry (Reynell, 1977). For the Joint Attention Group, the effect of Time was significant (F=7.96, p=0.001), but the effect of Language Group and the interaction of Time and Language Group were not significant. In the Play Group, neither the main effects nor the interaction effect were statistically significant.
Conclusions: This study revealed four main findings: 1) children randomized to the joint attention treatment increased their joint attention skills during treatment; 2) children in the joint attention condition also initiated more joint attention acts across the intervention than children in the play condition; 3) language (high or low) affected the change in joint attention skills during treatment for children in the play condition only; and 4) children with autism need to be taught joint attention skills, especially at low language ages, as joint attention skills not developing independently.
Objectives: The present study describes the effects of treatment on non-verbal communication skills for young children with autism during treatment. Participants in the study were in a randomized-controlled intervention study on joint attention skills with autism with two different treatment groups: joint attention skills treatment group or a comparison treatment group (play skills). The treatment phase lasted 5-6 weeks, on average (Kasari, Freeman, & Paparella, 2006).
Methods: Fifty-two children participated in the study (39 boys, 13 girls). Each child was videotaped during a generalized play interaction with the therapist every third day of treatment. Each of the generalized play interactions was coded for the type of communicative act and the function of that communicative act. Two composite variables were used: Total Joint Attention (JA) Composite and Total Behavior Regulation (BR) Composite. Total JA Composite is the summation of the frequency of all the child-initiated joint attention skills (points, gives, shows, and coordinated joint looks). Total BR Composite is the summation of the frequency of all the child-initiated behavior regulation skills (reach, point, give, and coordinated joint look).
Results: For joint attention skills, there was a significant effect of time (F=7.96, p=0.001), and a significant interaction between time and group (F=6.13, p=0.03). Participants were then split into two language groups (low- and high-language) based on receptive language ages from the Reynell Developmental Language Scales at program entry (Reynell, 1977). For the Joint Attention Group, the effect of Time was significant (F=7.96, p=0.001), but the effect of Language Group and the interaction of Time and Language Group were not significant. In the Play Group, neither the main effects nor the interaction effect were statistically significant.
Conclusions: This study revealed four main findings: 1) children randomized to the joint attention treatment increased their joint attention skills during treatment; 2) children in the joint attention condition also initiated more joint attention acts across the intervention than children in the play condition; 3) language (high or low) affected the change in joint attention skills during treatment for children in the play condition only; and 4) children with autism need to be taught joint attention skills, especially at low language ages, as joint attention skills not developing independently.