autism: a framework of essential skills
On the previous page, we learned that the essential skill that is missing or under-developed in children with autism is the skiill of Social attention. On this page, you’ll learn about other skills that are critical for understanding children with autism. Missing or under-developed social cognition does not explain all of the challenges that children with autism face. On this page, we will focus on the precursors of Social Attention, as well as the skills that children and youth can develop after they’ve developed Social Attention. The skill below all need to be mastered for success in social interactions.
social cognition framework
Social attention fits into a hierarchy of social awareness. The social cognition framework helps to understand how social cognition evolves. Here is the hierarchy:
Attachment
Imitation
Empathy
Social attention
Joint attention
Theory of mind
Children master social cognition by mastering the skills listed above. The skills listed in the above framework unfold mostly in the order as written. Awareness first, in the form of attachment, imitation, and empathy. These skills are usually hard-wired- humans are usually programmed to develop these initial skills. They are so crucial for survival in general, not just crucial to mastering social cognition. Like most aspects of child development, social cognition does not unfold in a linear manner. Instead, social cognition develops in a zig-zag fashion, or an overlapping waves fashion. Let’s look at these skills more closely:
Attachment.
Mostly in their second year of life, typically developing children develop a preference for their primary carers- they know who their parents are and they prefer being near to their parents. They know who primary carers are. They learn how to stay close to primary carers, and they get distressed if they don’t know where their primary carers are located. This is the skill of attachment. Children with autism learn attachment too, but often they learn it later. Early in life, they might not pay attention to their own parents. They might not show any distress when their parents are hidden from view. They might not stay close to them. Parents can support the skill of attachment when they keep the schedule consistent, and when they keep their nurturing behaviors consistent. Over time, and with routine nurturing over a longer time interval, children with autism commonly develop a feeling of attachment.
Imitation.
Imitation normally occurs before social attention develops. Imitation refers to the spontaneous and automatic tendency we have to imitate what others do. When watching others, we (often) spontaneously imagine ourselves doing the same actions. Or, we actually copy the behaviors of others. Imitation can occur spontaneously, but can also occur over time. Like attachment, imitation is not really learned. It develops as a spontaneous expression of human neurological development.
Humans usually have a drive or a desire to copy the behaviors of other humans. Clear cut examples occur in the second year of life in typically developing children when they copy their parents or when they copy the behavior of others. Children with autism may not show imitation spontaneously, reflecting their reduced drive to show social attention more generally.
Imitation, like empathy, emerges as part of spontaneous neurological growth. It’s a reflex, and it’s critical for successful learning. We all learn through imitation- Watching others perform a skill inclues imagining that we are doing the skill also. As part of the learning process, we imagine that we are doing what our social partner is doing. If we see someone making a cake, we imagine ourselves going through the steps of making a cake. If we see someone tying their shoelaces, we imagine ourselves tying our own shoelaces. For many children and youth with autism, it’s likely that failure to experience imitation leads to a slow learning curve. It’s not possible to teach this skill, though it may develop spontaneously over time.
Empathy.
Empathy refers to a spontaneous sharing of emotions between two people. Just like attachment and imitation, empathy mostly emerges on its own. First, let’s think about what empathy means. Empathy is biological. We all experience a little bit of the emotions of our social partners when we see them express an emotion. When we see our social partner being fearful, we feel a bit of fear; when we see anger, we feel a bit of anger; when we see excitement, we get excited too. And, importantly, when we see calm and quiet behaviors, we can feel a bit of calm and quiet too.
We won’t have these empathic responses if we’re not paying (social) attention to — eye contact, facial expressions, gestures, intonation, and body posture/ position. So, the first thing that we have to do to socialize successfully is to use Social Attention. First, recognize the fact that you are having an emotional experience when someone is being emotional with you. Then, decide what you will do with that emotional experience. You can join your social partner in the experience. both you and your social partner end up sharing the excitement, the sadness, the anger, or the fear of the situation. This is what empathy is. You can also decide not to join your partner in the feeling, but still by sympathetic to their situation. You can recognize the excitement, sadness, anger, or fear experienced by your social partner and comment upon it, without actually feeling the same feelings yourself. Finally, you can decide not to share the feeling nor share any sympathy if you think your social partner should or could experience their situation differently. What socially successful humans do is know the distinction between the three skills just mentioned. Many humans are not very good at this skill. Children with autism are usually especially limited in this skill and may have intense reactions to the emotional expressions of others, or may have no reaction at all.
The child with autism may not experience empathy. This does not mean that they do not have any emotions or feelings. It just means that they are not registering or experiencing the feeling that their social partner night be having— and, as a result, do not respond to that feeling in an appropriate manner. In fact, the child with autism could have a big reaction to the emotional expression of others, and react unsuccessfully to the situation because they are being too emotional. As part of your instruction in social Attention, consider teaching your child the skill of sympathy. A person who is being sympathetic does not share the same feelings as their social partner- but they know that their social partner is having feelings and they know that they need to pay attention to the feelings of their social partner. by using Social Attention, children and youth can learn to respond sympathetically.
social attention.
See previous page for a discussion of Social Attention
Joint attention.
Joint Attention and Theory of Mind are skills that only develop once a child (or adolescent) realizes that not everyone in the world sees the world the same way. Joint Attention is needed so that you know what your social partner is thinking about, and you know that they are sharing a specific topic, activity, or interest with you. Theory of mind is needed to start to imagine what your social partner might be thinking or feeling, especially when you are not sure. theory of mind is needed during non-routine situations, unexpected environmental events, or when your social partner does not respond as you expected.
When a child develops joint attention, it’s because they have figured out that they might know something or feel something that their social partner does not know about yet or feel yet. Shared attention means something like the following: “You and I are both thinking about and experiencing the same thoughts and feelings.” Reading a book together, even if it’s just to look at and talk about the pictures, requires shared attention. The experience of shared attention is generally a positive experience.
The child who understands a social partner’s failure to join them (failure to use joint attention) can then make a decision- Do I go on with what I’m doing and ignore my social partner’s focus of attention? Do I join my social partner in what they are doing? or, do I try to manipulate my social partner’s attention and get them to join in with me? An important behavior that signals joint attention is when a child points at something, makes eye contact with their social partner, and then looks back at the thing or the event that they are pointing at. This behavior occurs as early as 18 months.
Here’s what so revolutionary about Joint Attention: The child who practices Joint Attention or Shared Attention is sharing an experience with another human. Even though this skill occurs in a rudimentary form by age 18 months, shared attention is something that takes a few years to develop. Think of it as a preschool or kindergarten level skill. Many children remain very egotistic with their attention. Initially, children are likely to use Joint Attention skills to get their own needs and wants met, and not necessarily to just enjoy what it means to socialize using Shared Attention.
Over time, however, joint attention can become it’s own goal. It’s comforting and satisfying to have shared attention with someone. When children develop Shared Attention, they can expand their minds. Shared Attention asks them to think about what others are thinking or feeling, and use their imagination to think the thoughts and have the feelings of their social partner. Once they get to this level, they are also transitioning to Theory of Mind.
Theory of mind.
Theory of mind is the capacity to think about and guess at the feelings, thoughts, and beliefs that others may have. Theory of mind starts with shared attention or Joint Attention, but it’s more conscious and more developed that Joint attention. By the time they reach early elementary school, Children can imagine how their friends feel, what they are thinking about, what they believe, and also understand the notion of a false belief. a fuller expression of theory fo mind only develops later, e,g. late elementary school or middle school. At this age, children are much more curious about their social partner’s interests and thoughts.
In its fullest expression, humans use theory of mind to solve social problems. For example, the person who has good theory of mind skills can spontaneously recognize when shared or joint attention is lost, and what to do to regain that joint attention as needed. They can recognize communication breakdowns when they don’t understand their partner’s perspective, or when they realize that their social partner does not understand them. They can show this skill in-the-moment, but also over longer time intervals. They can use theory of mind skills to guess at or know what others might be thinking or feeling, and act strategically to assure that their needs and wants can still get met- even if it’s just a desire for more shared/ joint attention. Developing friendships depends upon having and using theory of mind skills.
goal: improve joint attention and theory of mind
Objectives: learn about shared attention
learn about Theory of Mind. this means learning about the emotions, thoughts, beliefs, and false beliefs that humans can show, and learning how to predict their behaviors.