Brief Report: Collateral Joint Engagement During a Playdate Intervention for Children with and at Risk for Autism

Joint engagement involves a child coordinating their attention between a person and a shared event. Children with autism present with impaired joint engagement. Playdates are a common way that children socially engage yet have been largely overlooked in the social skills literature. Requesting skills have been conceptualized as pivotal, producing collateral effects. In the current study, we conducted a secondary analysis of a single-case design that evaluated a parent-implemented playdate intervention focused on supporting children and peers to request and respond to one another during games. We examined the collateral effects of the playdate intervention on joint engagement. Two children demonstrated gains in joint engagement with a peer, and the third exhibited variable changes. Implications for future research are discussed.