Joint Social Attention, Inclusion and Peer Modelling

The inclusion of peers (and siblings) in the teaching process to support Social thinking skills can be critical when supporting the child or young person with autism. Below are some examples of strategies that can be utilised and tailored to the home and school environment.

• Joint social attention, Importance of inclusion and also the benefits of peer modelling –  Peer Modelling and Mentor Strategies

• Peer proximity:  The peer is asked to work or play next to the autistic child, which provides opportunities for the child to observe the desired behaviours in a close physical proximity and practice joint attention (Carter, Cushing, Clark, & Kennedy, 2005; Kamps, Kravits, & Ross, 2002; Whitaker, 2004)
• Peer prompting and reinforcement: The peer is directed to say ‘‘Let’s play’’ to the child to practice interaction in a natural context, and the peer may also choose to provide positive reinforcement though;

• • Verbal praise,
  • Descriptive praise,
  • Physical gesture – ‘‘high five’

to the child for responding appropriately to the activity or play prompt (Trembath, Balandin, Togher, & Stancliffe, 2009). This may also be the early building blocks which will ultimately promote conversational turn taking, a specific skill that is part of the larger domain of social communication and may be critical skills for a young child to learn given its impact on later communicative ability (Hart & Risley, 1995).

• Peer initiation:  The peer is asked to start an interaction, he or she might request to play with the child, and the child responds by cooperating in a play. Nelson, McDonnell, Johnston, Crompton, & Nelson, 2007

Many of us do not remember being taught such skills; we have grasped them unconsciously, probably through modelling our behaviour, (Bandura 1974), on that which we encountered as we grew up. This is not always the case for those with autism.

Click here to listen to Kari Dunn Buron discuss addressing social thinking difficulties and links to behaviour difficulties.

Many children with autism find difficulty reading facial expressions and body language; eye gazes, smiles and they cannot fathom play situations and interactions (Koegel & Koegel 1996, Cumine, Leach & Stevenson 2004).

Baron-Cohen (1995) concurs with this hypothesis, that those with autism have difficulties in assessing the difference in thoughts, ideas, viewpoints and emotions of others around them or that they are even different from their own perceptions. Bruce (1987) refers to the ability to understand and empathise with others as “de-centring.” She says, “The encouragement of the ability to decentre is crucial to early childhood education…. Decentration is also crucial for the development of acceptable social behavior (sic)” (p.134.)