Child'sTalk--for children with autism and pervasive developmental disorder

Area of Science:

• Developmental Psychology
• Clinical Psychology
• Speech-Language Pathology

Background:

• Children with early autism and PDD exhibit severe social communication deficits.
• Effective intervention requires understanding individual communication patterns and parent-child dyadic interaction.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe a research assessment protocol and early intervention approach for children with severe social communication deficits.
• To enhance parent-child interaction and facilitate communication development in young children with autism and PDD.

Main Methods:

• A multi-disciplinary assessment protocol analyzing social communication impairments and dyadic communication.
• An intervention utilizing video feedback for parents to identify and refine interaction strategies.
• Focus on adapting to the child's communication level and promoting shared intentionality.

Main Results:

• The assessment identifies specific patterns of social communication impairment.
• Video feedback enables parents to reflect on and improve interaction strategies.
• Intervention facilitates closer interpersonal interaction and mutual sharing of intentions.

Conclusions:

• Child'sTalk provides a structured approach for assessing and intervening in social communication deficits.
• The protocol supports multi-disciplinary teams in addressing early autism and PDD.
• Fine-tuning parent-child interaction is crucial for emergent communication in affected children.