Joint attention refers to an early developing set of behaviors that plays a critical role in both social and language development and is specifically impaired in children with autism. In a series of three studies, preschool teachers demonstrated the effectiveness of discrete trial instruction and pivotal response training strategies to teach joint attention to 5 children with autism (Study 1). Parents of 2 of the 5 children also taught joint attention at home and in the community (Study 2). Several additional dependent measures demonstrated collateral improvements in expressive language and social-communicative characteristics that were socially validated by parent raters (Study 3). Results are discussed with respect to the importance of addressing different forms of joint attention, the necessity to extend intervention to naturalistic contexts and joint attention partners, the pivotal nature of joint attention, and whether intervention adequately addresses both the form and social function of joint attention.

Siblings are a critical part of lifelong support for individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). But siblings face their own social-emotional adjustment needs. These needs may be addressed through programs that include support groups specifically for the siblings. This study examined the effects of a community program on typical siblings' depression, anxiety, ASD knowledge, and peer network as well as reciprocal interactions between the typical sibling and sibling with ASD. The program provided a sibling support group, a skills intervention for children with ASD, and an inclusive recreation time. Siblings reported significant decreases in depression and physiological anxiety and improvements in their peer network. Autism knowledge increased but only approached significance. Direct observations revealed improvement in reciprocal interactions by most children that did not reach statistical significance. Parents, typical siblings, and interventionists indicated positive reactions to the program and its goals and outcomes. Findings are discussed in terms of the need to continue to explore interventions for siblings of children with ASD.

-Children with Down syndrome are at an increased risk for engaging in challenging behaviour that may be part of a behavioural phenotype characteristic of Down syndrome. The methodology of applied behaviour analysis has been demonstrated effective with a wide range of challenging behaviours, across various disabilities. Applications to children with Down syndrome and the examination of behaviourally based strategies to specifically address the unique characteristics of children with Down syndrome are limited. However, there are several studies in which a subset of the participants did have Down syndrome. A handful of these studies are reviewed within the context of functional behaviour assessment and Positive Behavioural Supports. Drawing from these studies and the behavioural literature, as well as the authors' clinical experience and research, suggestions regarding early intervention for challenging behaviour with children with Down syndrome are provided.

Using a multiple probe design across responses, we demonstrated the effectiveness of intensive intervention in establishing spontaneous verbal responses to 2 3-year-old children with autism with generalization to novel settings involving novel persons. Intervention involved discrete-trial instruction (i.e., repeated instructional opportunities presented in close proximity to high rates of reinforcement), specific prompts, and error correction. Spontaneous responses were defined as specific verbal utterances (e.g., the child says ''bless you'') following discriminative stimuli that did not involve explicit vocal directives (e.g., adult sneeze). The development of effective interventions to address the social-communicative needs of very young children with autism is discussed.

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