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Abstract
Joint attention is an important early social-communicative skill, in which children with autism mainly exhibit deficits. This study examined the effectiveness of Korean mothers training with joint attention skills regarding their childrens contingent responses. The study was conducted with 3 dyads, each consisting of a mother and her child with autism in their home settings in Korea using a mixed method design. The results indicate that all 3 mothers increased their use of total joint attention bids, and their children with autism increased the percentage of their contingent responses as well as the number of contingent responses based on their mothers joint attention bids during the intervention. The study replicated the importance of joint attention intervention in natural settings with familiar persons. In addition, the intervention for joint attention skills showed effectiveness across cultural settings. Based on systems theory perspectives, five systems as factors influencing the effectiveness of the intervention were generated beyond mother-child dyads: mother, family, informal support, formal support, and sociocultural system. Limitations and implications for future research applying joint attention intervention for children with autism are discussed.