Attention-regulation strategies used by Deaf parents of deaf autistic children: A pilot study

Children with autism often struggle with the establishment of joint attention, a skill strongly linked to language outcomes for both typically-developing and autistic children. Increasing the amount of time spent in episodes of joint attention between parents and their autistic children is a worthy goal that could improve eventual language outcomes. This paper investigates a novel research population: Deaf parents of deaf autistic children. We look to Deaf parents because of previous work documenting numerous advantages that Deaf parents have over hearing parents in their ability to gain and maintain their children's visual attention. Using a semi-structured play-based protocol, we developed an exploratory coding scheme for defining an inventory of attention-getting strategies deployed by Deaf parents while interacting with their autistic children. We describe these strategies, including several that may be unique to Deaf parents. While much remains unknown, including the key question of which strategies are most effective in leading to increases in joint attention, this study represents a first step towards that important goal.