Efficacy of Caregiver-Mediated Joint Engagement Intervention for Young Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders

SAGE Publications. 2455 Teller Road, Thousand Oaks, CA 91320. Tel: 800-818-7243; Tel: 805-499-9774; Fax: 800-583-2665; e-mail: [email protected]; Web site: http://sagepub.com

Y

11

Intervention; Young Children; Autism; Pervasive Developmental Disorders; Attention; Skill Development; Human Body; Motion; Play; Quasiexperimental Design; Experimental Groups; Control Groups; Comparative Analysis; Parent Role; Pretests Posttests; Foreign Countries; Family Characteristics; Diagnostic Tests; Observation; Parent Child Relationship; Interaction; Video Technology; Child Behavior; Statistical Analysis; Regression (Statistics)

10.1177/1362361315575725

1362-3613

Joint attention intervention for children with autism spectrum disorders was focused on improving joint engagement and joint attention skills. The purpose of this study was to develop a caregiver-mediated joint engagement intervention program combined with body movement play to investigate the effects of joint engagement/joint attention skills in young children with autism spectrum disorders. A quasi-experimental research design was conducted. A total of 34 young children with autism spectrum disorders aged 2-4?years were separated into an intervention and a control group. The program consisted of 20 sessions, 60?min per session, twice a week, for the target child and his or her parent. The results indicated that child-initiated supportive and coordinated joint engagement was greater for the intervention group compared with the control group at 3-month follow-up. This demonstrated that our joint engagement intervention could enhance joint engagement, especially coordinated joint engagement for young children with autism spectrum disorders. The limitations of the study and future directions were discussed.

As Provided

37

2016

EJ1087218