Individuals with autism spectrum disorder demonstrate difficulty with joint attention, affecting social and occupational performance. Studies of joint attention in children with autism spectrum disorder employ a variety of instrumentation, environments and occupations. From the occupational therapy perspective, current literature lacks a rigorous analysis of the transactions of person, environment and occupation embedded within the procedures of these studies. The goal of this scoping review was to investigate how these components transact to affect occupational performance.
Method
Using the Person–Environment–Occupation model as an evaluative lens, a scoping review was completed to summarize person, environment and occupation transactions in studies examining joint attention in children aged 6–12 years with autism spectrum disorder.
Results
Six studies were included. Findings indicated that simplified social environments and demonstrations of joint attention promoted higher joint attention performance in children with autism spectrum disorder, at the cost of ecological validity. Maintaining ecological validity in complex social environments resulted in lower joint attention performance.
Conclusion
The Person–Environment–Occupation model can be used to develop an occupational therapy perspective on literature from outside the discipline. There is a relationship between the person, environment, occupation transactions and joint attention in children with autism spectrum disorder.
American Occupational Therapy Association (2015)
Scope of occupational therapy services for individuals with autism spectrum disorder across the life course. American Journal of Occupational Therapy63(S3): 6913410054p1–6913410054p12.
2.
American Psychiatric Association (2013) Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th ed.
Washington, DC:
American Psychiatric Association.
3.
AnzaloneSMTilmontEBoucennaS, et al. (2014)
How children with autism spectrum disorder behave and explore the 4-dimensional (spatial 3D+time) environment during a joint attention induction task with a robot. Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders8(7): 814–826.
4.
ArkseyHO’MalleyL (2005)
Scoping studies: Towards a methodological framework. International Journal of Social Research Methodology8(1): 19–32.
5.
BaioJWigginsLChristensenDL, et al. (2018)
Prevalence of autism spectrum disorder among children aged 8 years – Autism and developmental disabilities monitoring network, 11 sites, United States, 2014. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. Surveillance Summaries (Washington, D.C.: 2002)67(6): 1–23.
6.
BeanJLEigstiI (2012)
Assessment of joint attention in school-age children and adolescents. Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders6(4): 1304–1310.
7.
Canadian Association of Occupational Therapists (2015) Autism spectrum disorders and occupational therapy. Available at: https://www.caot.ca/document/3656/autism.pdf (accessed 4 July 2018).
8.
CasenhiserDMShankerSGStiebenJ (2011)
Learning through interaction in children with autism: Preliminary data from asocial-communication-based intervention. Autism: The International Journal of Research & Practice17(2): 220–241.
9.
ColquhounHLevacDO’BrienK, et al. (2014)
Scoping reviews: Time for clarity in definition, methods, and reporting. Journal of Clinical Epidemiology67(12): 1291–1294.
10.
EschenfelderVGGavalasCM (2017)
Joint attention and occupations for children and families living with autism spectrum disorder: A scoping review. The Open Journal of Occupational Therapy5(4): 1–18.
11.
Falck-YtterTBolteSGredebackG (2013)
Eye tracking in early autism research. Journal of Neurodevelopmental Disorders5(1): 28. DOI: http://doi.org/10.1186/1866-1955-5-28.
12.
GrantMJBoothA (2009)
A typology of reviews: An analysis of 14 review types and associated methodologies. Health Information and Libraries Journal26(2): 91–108.
13.
GuillonQHadjikhaniNBaduelS, et al. (2014)
Visual social attention in autism spectrum disorder: Insights from eye tracking studies. Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews42: 279–297.
14.
GulsrudACHellemannGSFreemanSFN, et al. (2014)
Two to ten years: Developmental trajectories of joint attention in children with ASD who received targeted social communication interventions. Autism Research7(2): 207–215.
15.
JohnsonALGillisJMRomanczykRG (2012)
A brief report: Quantifying and correlating social behaviors in children with autism spectrum disorders. Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders6(3): 1053–1060.
16.
KaraaslanODikenIHMahoneyG (2011)
A randomized control study of responsive teaching with young Turkish children and their mothers. Topics Early Childhood Special Education33(1): 18–27.
17.
LandaRJGrossALStuartEA (2013)
Developmental trajectories in children with and without autism spectrum disorders: The first 3 years. Child Development84(2): 429–442.
18.
LawMCooperBStrongS, et al. (1996)
The person-environment-occupation model: A transactive approach to occupational performance. Canadian Journal of Occupational Therapy63(1): 9–23.
19.
LeekamSRRamsdenCAH (2006)
Dyadic orienting and joint attention in preschool children with autism. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders36(2): 185–197.
20.
MeindlJNCannella-MaloneHI (2011)
Initiating and responding to joint attention bids in children with autism: A review of the literature. Research in Developmental Disabilities32(5): 1441–1454.
21.
MundyP (2018)
A review of joint attention and social‐cognitive brain systems in typical development and autism spectrum disorder. European Journal of Neuroscience47(6): 497–514.
22.
MundyPGwaltneyMHendersonH (2010)
Self-referenced processing, neurodevelopment and joint attention in autism. Autism14(5): 408–429.
23.
MundyPKimKMcIntyreN, et al. (2016)
Brief report: Joint attention and information processing in children with higher functioning autism spectrum disorders. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders46(7): 2555–2560.
24.
National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (2014) Autism quality standard. Available at: www.nice.org.uk/guidance/qs51 (accessed 10 October 2019).
25.
PattersonSYElderLGulsrudA, et al. (2014)
The association between parental interaction style and children’s joint engagement in families with toddlers with autism.Autism: The International Journal of Research & Practice18(5): 511–518.
26.
PicklesAHarrisVGreenJ, et al. (2015)
Treatment mechanism in the MRC preschool autism communication trial: Implications for study design and parent-focussed therapy for children. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry56(2): 162–170.
27.
RosenthalMWallaceGLLawsonR, et al. (2013)
Impairments in real-world executive function increase from childhood to adolescence in autism spectrum disorders.Neuropsychology27(1): 13–18.
28.
SchietecatteIRoeyersHWarreynP (2012)
Exploring the nature of joint attention impairments in young children with autism spectrum disorder: Associated social and cognitive skills. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders42(1): 1–12.
29.
SwansonMRSillerM (2013)
Patterns of gaze behavior during an eye-tracking measure of joint attention in typically developing children and children with autism spectrum disorder. Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders7(9): 1087–1096.
30.
ThorupEKlebergJFalck-YtterT (2017)
Gaze following in children with autism: Do high interest objects boost performance?Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders47(3): 626–635.
31.
TownsendEPolatajkoH (2007) Enabling Occupation II: Advancing an Occupational Therapy Vision for Health, Well-being, & Justice through Occupation.
Ottawa:
CAOT.
32.
WellsGSheaBO’ConnellD, et al. (2000) The Newcastle-Ottawa Scale (NOS) for assessing the quality of nonrandomised studies in meta-analyses. Available at: www.ohri.ca/programs/clinical_epidemiology/oxford.asp (accessed 5 June 2019).
