Infant and maternal engagement: A coding rubric for infant-mother free play analysis

This coding rubric was developed to assess 5-month-old infant free play interactions with their mothers.

Sequence organization of autistic children’s play with caregivers: Rethinking follow-in directives

This study is a qualitative investigation of caregiver–child interactions, involving 15 autistic children who are in the early stages of language learning. Data consisted of 15-min videos of free-play interactions recorded in a University clinic. We use conversation analysis to examine the sequence organization of proposal episodes, where the caregiver proposes some course of action regarding the child’s play activity. Prior work has used a speech act theoretical framework to identify follow-in directives, which are similar to proposals, but identified at the utterance level rather than at the level of social action. According to conversation analysis, social actions are implemented over multiple interactional turns and produced in collaboration between interaction partners. Our analysis showed that caregivers design their talk in ways that enable autistic children’s participation in interactional turn-taking by forecasting the upcoming proposal. They also socialize children into expectations around turn-taking, by providing an “interaction envelope” around children’s conduct so that it can be construed as completing interactional sequences. Finally, we show how autistic children can display an orientation to turn-taking by timing their interactive moves to occur at transitional moments in the interaction in ways similar to adult conversational turn-taking. Lay abstract In this article we use a qualitative method, conversation analysis, to examine videos of caregivers interacting with their young autistic children who are in the early phases of language learning. Conversation analysis involves preparation of detailed transcripts of video data, which are then analyzed together to understand how interactional moves (e.g. talk, gestures, and physical conduct) are linked with prior and subsequent interactional moves. We analyzed data from 15 participants, and focused on instances when caregivers made a proposal about something the child was playing with. In previous research, similar instances have been referred to as “follow-in directives.” We found that these proposals were embedded in sequences that had a similar structure, and were prefaced with a ‘pre-proposal’; where the caregiver established the child’s interest in a joint activity and signaled the upcoming proposal. The caregiver’s talk was also provided in such a way that there was a clear “slot” for the child’s turn, which made it easy for the child’s actions to become part of an interactional sequence. In addition, proposal sequences were very negotiable—the caregivers do not usually insist that the child follow through on the proposal, only that they produce an action that could be taken as a response. Finally, there were some instances where the child’s turn was very precisely timed to occur right at the end of a caregiver’s proposal; this precise timing could signal the child’s understanding of how interactional turn-taking works. We suggest that this method of examining caregiver–child interactions provides new insights into how interactions proceed, which could be useful for future intervention research.

Action bids in children with speech impairments

The paper illustrates a practice, which we have called ‘marking’, observed in play interactions between parents and children with Down syndrome (DS) aged 3–8 years. Markings are minimal turns that rely on prosody, embodied resources and indexicality to foreground events within an ongoing activity and convey a stance toward them. Markings can be both retrospective and prospective (i.e. referring to a just-occurred or an incipient event). As first pair parts, they are open action bids that prompt recipients to display their co-orientation towards the referent. Responses from parents (i.e. second markings) can take the form of repeats or expansions; after prospective marking the recipient can also add support to the incipient activity the child has marked. We discuss marking as the core constituent of a larger family of actions for ‘sharing noteworthiness’, but also as a designedly undetermined action bid with specific conversational uses for children and adults alike.

Development and Evaluation of Online Approaches for Improved Kinaesthetic Learning in Science

Kinaesthetic learning is expressed when physical actions are used to connect concept development to reality, for example through model building, trial and error practice, or role-play interactions. Learning through a kinaesthetic modality is highly effective and complementary to other learning modalities. Recent advances in gamification for education have increased access to science simulations and learning online. However, the transfer of offline kinaesthetic techniques to online learning remains under-researched and poorly implemented on affordable, scalable platforms. Here we describe an accessible approach for educators on how to incorporate online kinaesthetic aspects into lessons through use of a scalable and affordable framework developed called the ‘Kinaesthetic Learning System’ (KLS). This framework should be of particular use for learning complex molecular life science topics but can be adapted and modified independently by the educator to address different knowledge levels and for expansion to other disciplines.

A Systematic Review of Father–Child Play Interactions and the Impacts on Child Development

Father–child play engagement has been linked to a variety of child developmental outcomes. However, the most prevalent types of play and child developmental outcomes utilised in research remains unclear. The aim of this study was to systematically review the literature on father–child play interactions and the association with child developmental outcomes for children aged 0–10 years. Database searches generated 1622 abstracts that matched the specified search criteria. Abstract screening and full-text review resulted in 39 included publications. The systematic review revealed that while some paternal play behaviours resulted in different impacts across play types, others reported similar impacts. The findings of this review have implications for potential interventions and parenting resources.

Parent Command Use and Child Compliance During Parent–Child Interactions Including Children With Down Syndrome

Purpose This study investigated maternal and paternal command use and child compliance in children with Down syndrome during mother–child and father–child free-play interactions. We also examined child compliance to direct versus indirect commands, and the relationships between maternal command use, paternal command use, child compliance, and child speech and language abilities. Method Fifteen families including a mother, father, and child with Down syndrome participated. Mother–child and father–child dyads participated in free-play interactions. We coded overall parent command use, command type (direct or indirect), and child compliance with the commands. Child language abilities were measured using a standardized assessment as well as during free-play. Results Mothers and fathers of children with Down syndrome used a similar number of commands, and children complied similarly across interactions. Children were more likely to comply with direct versus indirect commands. Parent command use was related to child language abilities in different ways for mothers and fathers. Child compliance was not related to receptive or expressive language abilities. Conclusions Mothers and fathers of children with Down syndrome use commands in similar ways but may base their command use on different child factors. Using direct commands with children with Down syndrome may be beneficial when increasing compliance during early interactions.

Attunement and Paternal Characteristics in Care Relationships in the Presence of Children Diagnosed with Autism

Parents of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have to address various challenges mainly due to their children’s atypia related to communication, emotion regulation and behaviors, arising also within the relationship with their caregivers. Several studies have pointed out that children with ASD can exhibit many difficulties regarding initiating and maintaining meaningful relationships with others. To date, little research has explored the interactions between children with ASD and their fathers, focusing more on mothers. In the context of parent–child interactions in the presence of autism, recent studies have highlighted the importance of parental attunement but there is little research considering solely the affective-bodily dimension. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to explore the parental attunement in fathers of children with ASD observed during play interactions and to investigate the relationship between paternal attunement and the perception of their psychological characteristics related to care relationships. The results highlight that fathers who describe themselves as better in affective care and sensitivity toward others more likely have an absence of paternal attunement during play interactions. The data presented are discussed in the light of intervention hypotheses, aimed at improving the relationship between fathers and children with autism.

Forms and Frames: Mind, Morality, and Trust in Robots across Prototypical Interactions

People often engage human-interaction schemas in human-robot interactions, so notions of prototypicality are useful in examining how interactions’ formal features shape perceptions of social robots. We argue for a typology of three higher-order interaction forms (social, task, play) comprising identifiable-but-variable patterns in agents, content, structures, outcomes, context, norms. From that ground, we examined whether participants’ judgments about a social robot (mind, morality, and trust perceptions) differed across prototypical interactions. Findings indicate interaction forms somewhat influence trust but not mind or morality evaluations. However, how participants perceived interactions (independent of form) were more impactful. In particular, perceived task interactions fostered functional trust, while perceived play interactions fostered moral trust and attitude shift over time. Hence, prototypicality in interactions should not consider formal properties alone but must also consider how people perceive interactions according to prototypical frames.