The present study was designed to: (1) identify the qualitative and temporal characteristics of the exchange structures of autistic children interacting with an adult; and (2) analyse and compare the implementation of their interactive behaviour in a range of play situations. Ten autistic children aged 5 to 14 were video-taped while interacting with an adult in four play situations, with or without objects. The elementary behavioural events observed in the dyads were coded and processed on a computer by an automatic pattern detection program. The results showed that in this structured situation the autistic children engaged in a variety of behaviours for communicating with the adult, and that 8 of the 10 children repeatedly exhibited structures of interaction. These patterns were found to depend on IQ, but involved a certain number of peculiar characteristics (parasitic behaviours, lack of initiative, maladapted visual behaviour, etc.), even for the children with the highest IQ scores. The physical interaction situations gave rise to fewer and less elaborate patterns than the situations involving objects. Only the most advanced children participated in the joint-attention situation. The implications of the method for understanding the abnormal development of interaction in autism are discussed.
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