Joint Attention: How it Plays a Role in Your Child’s Language Development
Joint attention is a child’s ability to focus on a thing or event with another person. For example, a child looks at you and points to a teddy bear on a shelf. This attention or interaction can be verbal or nonverbal, such as gestures, gazing, or verbal exchanges.
In the example above, the child is initiating joint attention. However, joint attention also requires a child to engage when the joint attention is undertaken by someone else. For example, if you tried to point at a teddy bear on a shelf, the child would look at the teddy bear.
Joint Attention’s Role in Language Development
So, why is joint attention important?
Joint attention is a way for children to develop social skills. Social interactions lead to understanding verbal and nonverbal communication, such as language, gestures, and facial expressions. Since language is very much social, joint attention is needed and is a precursor to using words to communicate. Using joint attention is one of your first ways your child is communicating with you.
When a child initiates interaction or engages in your initiations at interaction, they learn to listen and understand language, leading to them imitating and using verbal and nonverbal communication.
If a child does not initiate or engage in joint attention, then they do not have the opportunity to learn social interaction or communication. For example, they might interact with their environment by playing with different sticks, leaves, and flowers outside. They might not learn the word for the objects they are playing with unless they engage in some interaction with you. This is ultimately concerning because a lack of joint attention and engagement can be an early sign of language delay.
Strategies to Help Your Child Develop Joint Attention
If you notice your child lacks joint attention skills, the best first step is to seek early intervention. Joint attention is a skill that begins to develop around 12 months. If you have concerns, a therapist will be able to help with and evaluate the situation.
Some things you can do to help develop joint attention are:
o Establish eye contact/get your child’s attention.
o Encourage interactions through techniques such as communication temptations.
o Emphasize gestures. Over-exaggerate them at first to help get your child’s attention.
o Take part in the activities your child enjoys, especially if they are alone doing them. Such as playing with their favorite toy.
The basis of building joint attention is getting them to respond or interact with you. If they do, make sure to reward them. Make social interactions fun to help encourage it. When you begin to establish interactions with your child, you can then work on things such as verbal routines and recasting, both of which help build your child’s vocabulary.
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Laura, “Joint Attention in Toddlers: Why It’s Important for Language Development,” Teach Me To Talk. 2 March 2017, https://teachmetotalk.com/2017/03/02/joint-attention-toddlers-why-its-important-for-language-development/.
Laura, “#281 Skills Toddlers Must Use Before Words Emerge-#4 Joint Attention,” Teach Me To Talk. 25 March 2016, https://teachmetotalk.com/2016/03/25/281-skills-toddlers-must-use-before-words-emerge-4-joint-attention/.