Implications for the Language Development of Children with Autism: How Children and Parents Collaborate to Negotiate Meaning

Collaborative activities between children and their parents provide a unique context for all forms of cultural learning including children's emerging social understanding and the creation and use of linguistic symbols.

This research has two major findings: First, that parents of children with autism are as responsive to their children's focus of attention and ongoing activity as matched controls (e.g. parents of children with developmental delays parents of typically developing children). Second, that the rate of language growth in children with autism is independently predicted by (a) children's responsiveness to others' bids for joint attention and (b) parents' responsiveness to their children's attention and activity during play.

Neither predictive relations could be explained by initial variation in developmental characteristics such as IQ mental age or language abilities. The presentation will close with a report on an ongoing intervention study designed to provide an experimental test linking responsive parental behaviors with the development of early communication skills in children with autism.

Purchase the complete Autism Seminar Collection

or additional copies of the following:

How Infants and Their Brains Develop and Early Signs of Autism Spectrum Disorders: Implications for Detection and Care
Presented by Colwyn Trevarthen Ph.D. Scotland

Early Identification for ASD Using Social-Emotional Indicators
Presented by Jim Stieben Canada

Early Signs Related to Posture and Communication
Presented by Prof. Laurent Danon-Boileau France

How Children and Parents Collaborate to Negotiate Meaning: Implications for the Language Development of Children with Autism
Presented by Michael Siller M.A. USA

Changing Destinies: Finding the Conditions for Attunement in a Six-Month-Old Baby
Presented by Stella Acquarone Ph.D. England

Early Indicators of Autism Spectrum Disorders in the First Year of Life
Presented by Sandra Maestro M.D. and Filippo Muratori M.D. Italy

Infants at Risk: Early Signs of Pre-Autism Diagnosis and Treatment
Presented by Hanna Alonim Isreal

Echoes in the Nursery: Does Our Third Baby Have Autism Too?
Presented by Barbara Kalmanson Ph.D. USA

The Earliest Signs of Autism in Infants and Treatment: Where We Were and Where We Are
Presented by Henry Massie M.D. USA

Infant Development and Behavior in Autism
Presented by Lonnie Zwaigenbaum M.D. and Shelley Mitchell MSC SLP

Available As: DVD format
Presenter: Michael Siller Ph.D.
Running Time: 60 Minutes