Cresanna Kahrl, BCBA, LBA

As you identify cues the learner is missing, design goals and programming to support development of these cusps. These are just a few examples.

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So much of communication is non-vocal - it is rich with glances, smiles, gestures, approach, and shared joyful interactions.

As we move into the second joint engagement domain, we take note of the learner's response to social bids from others. We present a variety of opportunities and observe closely.

Will they respond to a greeting?

Turn around when a toy squeaks or rattles?

Look up when someone enters the room?

These routine events are an occasion to note missing behavior cusps and plan for effective intervention.

For learners with delays in social awareness and orienting, initial goals may focus on learning to sit (for the child who is never still), to respond to auditory cues in the environment (e.g., their name, someone entering the room), or to shift attention between objects and people.

These are just a few examples - always individualize for your learner's unique needs!

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Have you ever tried to establish rapport with a child that is in constant motion?

Learning to be in proximity and orient to others may be missing behavioral cusps for these learners, but it can be established with patience and shaping.

When assessing an early learner, don’t rush into “testing” skills. Take time to observe, to approach slowly, to notice details.

Is the child comfortable with sharing space?

Do they notice you or are they absorbed in objects or stereotypy?

Will they sit down or are they constantly in motion?

These observations, and others discussed in the slides, are key to pinpointing delays in social awareness and orienting. Taking the time to identify these barriers allows you to design effective programming to establish joint engagement.

What does this child enjoy?

In order to build joint engagement, we need to identify what types of interaction are most preferred.

Try out a few from each category and pay close attention to what gets a smile, approach, eye gaze, shared enjoyment, or anticipation.

Joint engagement skills develop step by step; starting with awareness and observation of others. As each domain gets stronger, skills from the next domain begin to emerge.

What component skills of joint engagement should I assess? Let's start by identifying the 4 domains we need to consider.