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Description: This occurs when the child points to an object that is out of reach, while looking at another person, in effort to share engagement or attention with another person about an object of interest. Pointing to more distant objects just to share them shows the child is furthering his/her understanding that pointing can reference objects that are out of reach, and that pointing can be used to draw attention to a specific item.


Skill Levels across Three Categories of Social-Communication

The hierarchies of social communication visually represent the order in which these skills develop, and the corresponding ASAP goals and objectives to help children build each level of communication and play.

Social-Communication Hierarchy Chart
Download Social-Communication Hierarchy
What is Joint Attention?

When one person purposefully coordinates his or her focus of attention with that of another person, we refer to the behavior as “joint attention.” Joint attention involves two people paying attention to the same thing, intentionally and for social reasons. Imagine, for example, that a teacher points to her desk and says to a child, “Look at that big apple.” The child looks at the place the teacher has pointed and sees the apple. In this situation, the teacher and the child have engaged in joint attention—that is, they shared attention to the apple on purpose.