Abstract
A battery of 17 rating items were applied to video records of typically-developing toddlers and young children with autism
and Down syndrome interacting with their parents during the Communication Play Protocol. This battery provided a reliable
and broad view of the joint engagement triad of child, partner, and shared topic. Ratings of the child’s joint engagement
correlated very strongly with state coding of joint engagement and replicated the finding that coordinated joint engagement
was less likely in children with autism. Ratings of other child actions, of parent contributions, and of shared topics and
communicative dynamics also documented pervasive variations related to diagnosis, language facility, and communicative context.
and Down syndrome interacting with their parents during the Communication Play Protocol. This battery provided a reliable
and broad view of the joint engagement triad of child, partner, and shared topic. Ratings of the child’s joint engagement
correlated very strongly with state coding of joint engagement and replicated the finding that coordinated joint engagement
was less likely in children with autism. Ratings of other child actions, of parent contributions, and of shared topics and
communicative dynamics also documented pervasive variations related to diagnosis, language facility, and communicative context.
- Content Type Journal Article
- Category Original Paper
- Pages 1-14
- DOI 10.1007/s10803-012-1520-1
- Authors
- Lauren B. Adamson, Department of Psychology, Georgia State University, Box 5010, Atlanta, GA 30302-5010, USA
- Roger Bakeman, Department of Psychology, Georgia State University, Box 5010, Atlanta, GA 30302-5010, USA
- Deborah F. Deckner, Department of Psychology, Georgia State University, Box 5010, Atlanta, GA 30302-5010, USA
- P. Brooke Nelson, Department of Psychology, Georgia State University, Box 5010, Atlanta, GA 30302-5010, USA
- Journal Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders
- Online ISSN 1573-3432
- Print ISSN 0162-3257