Joint Attention is a Behavior Cusp Skill

When an infant's attention is drawn to another person's face and voice, they experience a positive emotion as the amygdala and prefrontal cortex are activated. These networks are often faulty in children on the autism spectrum. As a result, no MO is created for wanting to look toward others. Coordinated eye gaze and shared experiences with others, knowns as joint attention, is considered a prerequisite skill for other skills including imitation, social engagement, and communication, a behavior cusp skill. Teaching this skill is often left out of ABA programs because it is challenging to teach, and requires very thoughtful and specific planning. Hear more from Kelly about this topic and learn how you can have further training on this topic from her. Social Skills Collaborative - Autism Skills & ABA Training. Or join my Patreon for monthly learning: Social Skills Learning Collaborative with Kelly (McKinnon) Bermingham | Creating ABA content for therapists and parents | Patreon Sponsored by Cite Pro