Atypical visual direction of in the episodes of joint attention with pre-school children

Abstract

Introduction. The article is devoted to the problem of manifestations of joint attention deficit in preschool age. Joint attention is considered as a key skill in dyadic orientation and providing joint access to the reference to the reference object in the communication process. The study focuses on how skills in a joint search in episodes of joint attention and understanding of the intentional actions of another person are interconnected in typical and atypical ontogenesis.Materials and methods. In the present study, an experiment examines the visual orientation of directional social signals (orientation toward the direction of eye movements of the communication partner) in typically developing children (n = 21) and children with mental retardation (n = 20). The sample of the study consisted of children of preschool age (5-7 years). To fix the data, we used the recognition criteria and using the correct (congruent) or incorrect (incongruent) direction of eye movements of another person to determine the location of the target (object) that the communication partner chooses during the experiment.Results. A comparison was made of the use of unmarked instructions by preschool children, which help them to carry out a joint search for potential visually accessible referents and contributes to the selection of a relevant object that the adult had in mind. It is shown that preschoolers with mental retardation have difficulty in the functional use of joint attention for social exchange. Markers of joint attention deficit associated with atypical development at an early stage of ontogenesis were found.Discussion and Conclusions. In the episodes of joint attention with  preschoolers with mental retardation, there are changes in the profile of suggestive attitudes, sensitivity to the direction of the partner’s gaze, differences in the mechanistic and mentalistic gaze. We can single out the following specific difficulties in children with mental retardation: deficiencies in the reference search, deficiencies in the declarative indication and display, deficiencies in the search, where others indicate.