Toddlers with autism have poor joint attention skills. Joint attention skills include pointing to objects, following another person’s gaze, and responding to invitations to join in a social interaction. Improved joint attention skills may lead to better verbal ability as the child ages. This study teaches caregivers how to help their toddlers with autism develop joint attention skills.

Condition	Treatment or Intervention	Phase
Autism	Behavior: Caregiver joint attention intervention	Phase I Phase II

Young children with autism show impairment in joint attention. The impairment affects their ability to sustain a shared interest in social interaction and to use specific joint attention skills, such as pointing and showing. The importance of joint attention is underscored by data suggesting these skills are important to later language skills. Targeting joint attention deficits in developmentally young children using familiar caregivers may result in better child language outcomes. This study will teach caregivers how to initiate and maintain episodes of joint engagement with their children.

Participants will be randomized to either the intervention group or to a wait list control group. Each caregiver and child in the intervention group will participate in 24 1-hour sessions, 3 times a week for 8 weeks. In these sessions, caregivers will be taught 10 different modules for teaching joint attention skills to their children. Outcome measures will include language and joint attention skills in the child and caregiver adherence to the intervention protocols. Children and caregivers will be assessed at baseline, during the course of the 8-week intervention, and 10 weeks after the end of the intervention. Participants assigned to the wait list group will begin the intervention at Week 12.

Ages Eligible for Study:  12 Months   -   36 Months,  Genders Eligible for Study:  Both

Criteria

Inclusion Criteria

• Diagnosis of autism based on Autism Diagnostic Interview–Revised (ADI-R) and Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS) criteria

Exclusion Criteria

• Seizures
• Medical or psychiatric diagnoses other than autism that potentially contribute to developmental delay (e.g., genetic syndromes)

California
      University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles,  California,  90095,  United States; Recruiting

Study chairs or principal investigators

Connie Kasari, PhD,  Principal Investigator,  University of California, Los Angelos   

Study ID Numbers:  R21MH64927
Record last reviewed:  June 2003
Record first received:  August 1, 2003
ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier:  NCT00065910
Health Authority: United States: Federal Government
ClinicalTrials.gov processed this record on 2004-11-18