Back-and-forth interaction, or turn taking, may support later joint attention, a more complex form of interaction, when promoted in interventions for young children with autism, especially depending on the child's intent when interacting. In the present study, we observed videos of 20 toddlers with autism engaging in turn taking with their caregivers during an intervention designed to support children's joint attention. We sought to identify when the children displayed turn taking socially and when they were using it for nonsocial purposes in the intervention videos. We also observed videos after the intervention was complete to identify when children used joint attention when interacting with their caregivers. After these observations, we used these video data to explore the relationship of social turn taking to joint attention, and the relationship of nonsocial turn taking to joint attention. We found a significant relationship between social turn taking and joint attention, but not between nonsocial turn taking and joint attention. These findings support the importance of considering social turn taking in interactions between young children with autism and their caregivers.
Keywords: autism spectrum disorders; family functioning and support; preschool children; social cognition and social behavior.