The impact of Attention Autism on early social communication skills

Laura Maasland

ABSTRACT: It has been documented that within the field of autism education, there frequently exists a dearth of strategies pertaining specifically to the development of early social communication skills (Chang et al, 2016). This includes joint attention, gestures and play skills; areas which themselves present an intrinsically complex and challenging area of development for people with autism. Joint attention has been further identified as a key predictor for the trajectory of language attainment in later years (Murza et al, 2016); and therefore, is a priority for therapeutic input.

Attention Autism is a therapeutic intervention designed by Speech and Language Therapist Gina Davies, aimed at promoting fundamental social communication skills; starting at Stage 1 with joint attention. This case study will investigate the outcomes of Attention Autism groups (Stage 1) for one pupil and aim to identify ways in which this input can be best utilised across the organisation.