Here is what made Early Intervention of Autism click for us:

Joint Attention

One of the reasons it is believed that children with ASD are delayed socially and in other ways, is their lack of joint attention.  Joint attention is when you and your child are both interacting with a 3rd thing (e.g. a book) as well as with each other.

How does this lack of joint attention affect learning and development? 

Imagine a child quietly playing on their own in a room with other kids and adults. A neurotypical child will pick up on all sorts of cues and other information just by being in the room. 

The autistic child however, may be so lost in their own world, that they miss out on all those learning and developmental opportunities that their neurotypical friends take in without effort. After years of these missed opportunities, one can imagine how their development might be impacted.

Our goal became to help SweetBoy become as engaged in his environment as we possibly could before he started preschool. That way, he would hopefully benefit more from his environment, and not “miss out” on as many learning opportunities.

Become the Most Interesting Thing to your Child

I am so happy to say that SweetBoy5 now makes a lot of eye contact and gives us joint attention in spades.  We set out to make ourselves as fun and enjoyable as possible. Spoiler alert…it was a lot of work and pretty tiring, but so so worth it.

We were fortunate enough to be part of the “PLAY Project“ and Social ABCs Program.  Our family benefitted so much from these programs and I would highly recommend them to those who have the opportunity. 

They gave us tips on how to engage and play with him, recorded video of us playing with our son, and then gave us feedback on those videos.

Here are some of the things we found most helpful:

Be Animated

Something I heard from an Youtuber SLP once was to play with your child as though you yourself were a child. In the beginning, you are going to have to ramp your energy right up to try and “convince” your child that it’s worth their time to pay attention to you

Observe. Pay Attention to what they are Paying Attention to.

When you are trying to engage your child, our first instinct is often to try and get their attention and focus it on what we are trying to show them.

    “Johnny, Johnny, look here. Johnny, hey Johnny, look at the bunny over here!” 

When it comes to our autistic kiddos, we have to take a very different approach.

Instead of wrenching their attention away from what they are already doing, we need to first slow down, quietly observe, and discover what is already captivating them. 

What are they doing right now? 

Lining up cars? 

Looking at their fingers? 

Playing with blocks? 

Join them in what they are already doing! 

Is Johnny lining up cars? Pick out a car from his toy bin and hand it to him (be a helper). 

Is Suzy opening and closing a cupboard in your kitchen? Crouch down and open the one next to hers.

Get down on their level, eye to eye if possible.

Make it as easy as possible for them to look at you. Don’t stand 3 feet above them, requiring them to crane their neck to look at you. Get right down on the floor next to them and play like you were a 3 year old. 

Discover what makes them squeal in delight.

Do they love being swung around? 

Do they love singing?

Do they love tickles?

Not sure? Keep a record of all the times you have heard them laugh or be delighted, and take note of what caused it.

Once you know what “makes them tick”, gives them lots of it! Don’t worry about inserting “speech therapy” yet. Just connect with your child. Make playing with you something that he loves. Something that she has realized is worth their time.

The time for adding in speech will come. For now, focus on connecting and engaging. Enjoy your child…and remember, BE ANIMATED 🙂 

In the Play Project, they call this phase the “the sweat stage”. You are going to be working really hard for the sweet reward of your baby’s attention. Don’t worry, it will get easier.

For More Information:

ESDM YouTube link:

Hanen Link

LEAVE A COMMENT

I am just starting out on this Blog journey, and with a full time job and two kids, my posts may be few and far between as I start out. But I would LOVE to hear any you thoughts you have. Is your family in a similar situation? Are there certain topics you would like more posts of?

Feel free to ask questions about anything in this article as well and I will do my best to answer!

You Moms/Dads/Family Support people are doing amazing. Your children are so lucky to have you. It will be ok 💖