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Proximity and sociable behaviours in autism: evidence for attachment
1University of California, Los Angeles, USA.
Insights
Autistic children demonstrate strong maternal attachment, similar to typically developing and Down syndrome children. However, they exhibit deficits in social interaction behaviors like mutual play.
Area of Science:
- Developmental Psychology
- Child Psychology
- Clinical Psychology
Background:
- Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is often characterized by social interaction deficits.
- Previous research and clinical descriptions sometimes portray autistic children as aloof or unattached to caregivers.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the nature of attachment behaviors in young autistic children compared to typically developing children and children with Down syndrome.
- To examine whether autistic children exhibit preferential proximity and social behaviors towards their mothers.
Main Methods:
- Observational study in a laboratory playroom setting.
- Participants included 16 autistic, 16 normal, and 16 Down syndrome children (aged 3-6 years) with their mothers and a female stranger.
- Continuous recording of proximity and social behaviors during three observation sessions.
Main Results:
- Autistic children displayed behaviors indicating clear attachment to their mothers.
- Similar to control groups, autistic children preferentially directed proximity behaviors towards their mothers.
- Deficits in the autistic group were primarily observed in social interaction behaviors such as 'Show', 'Give', and 'Mutual Play'.
Conclusions:
- The study challenges the notion of the aloof, unattached autistic child.
- Autistic children form functional attachments to their mothers, comparable to their peers.
- Social interaction deficits in autism are specific and do not necessarily reflect a lack of attachment.
Abstract:
Sixteen autistic, 16 normal and 16 Down syndrome children (aged 3-6 years) were observed with their mother and a female stranger in a laboratory playroom. Proximity and sociable behaviours were recorded continuously during three observation sessions. The autistic children showed behaviours indicating that they were clearly attached to their mothers: like the normal and Down syndrome children, they showed all behaviours preferentially to the mother and directed proximity behaviours almost exclusively to her. These attachments were functionally similar to those of the comparison children. The deficits identified in the autistic group were restricted to a set of behaviours which have to do with social interaction such as Show, Give and Mutual Play. Descriptions of the aloof, unattached autistic child were not confirmed.