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Description: This occurs when an object is far enough away that the child cannot touch it, and the child reaches towards the object. This is often an open hand reach, but could also be an action in which the child opens and close his/her hand repetitively. Reaching towards an out of reach object shows that the child wants the object and is beginning to understand that reaching will communicate to another person that s/he wants that object.


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.