1.23 examination of the developmental relationships between social motivation, initiation of joint attention, and language in infants at risk for asd

Joint attention, the coordinated orienting of 2 individuals toward an object, has been linked to later language capabilities in children with typical development and with ASD. Early social motivation —the disposition to preferentially orient to social stimuli and to seek, like, and maintain social engagement—also has been hypothesized to promote language development. However, no prior research has examined whether social motivation and joint attention are necessary for the emergence of speci fic language abilities.
Source: Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry - Category: Psychiatry Authors: Source Type: research