abstract / summary:
The attention in autism is best achieved by repeating the posture of attention. instead of frequently teaching movement based learning, if the parents indulge thier time in sitting based learning; better attention can be established. similarlly, the more time parents spend with kid in face to face eye to eye sitting floor based connection, the easier for the kid to socialise. Socialisation and communication is possible only between 2 living beings. No amount of activities or engagement through non living toys or activities or mobile or youtube is going to help. in fact, by continuously or repeatedly keeping child busy with objects toys or mobile, we are desocialising child by promoting solo play. Best games to initiate in autism kids are face to face sitting games like snake& ladder, uno cards, carrom; or in younger kids simple games like chawu mawu, tota udd kauwa ud , ithe ithe bais re mora, karangali marangali. hadel happ khar kabutar doli dustar, apdi thapdi , aao mina super sina or when you cannot give time, initiate picture story books for kids, digital form , or print form like champak, all set to read..
Main article:
Attention in Autism Begins with the Posture of Attention
Why Sitting-Based Social Learning Is More Powerful Than Endless Activity-Based Engagement
Author:
Prof. Dr. Santosh Kondekar
MBBS, MD (Pediatrics), DNB (Pediatrics)
FAIMER Fellowship
Fellowship in Pediatric Neurology & Epilepsy
Postgraduate Diploma in Developmental Neurology
Professor of Pediatrics
Developmental Neuro Pediatrician
TN Medical College & BYL Nair Hospital, Mumbai
Director — AAKAAR Clinic Child Development Center
Mumbai, India
📞 9869405747
🌐
For all post links:
For autism, ADHD, speech delay, behaviour disorders, epilepsy and learning disability.
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One of the most misunderstood concepts in autism intervention is the meaning of attention. Many therapeutic systems attempt to improve attention through continuous movement, excessive activity scheduling, rapid task shifting, sensory stimulation or object-based engagement. Children are repeatedly moved from one activity to another under the assumption that “busy children are attentive children.”
However, true attention is not merely physical engagement. Attention is organized cognitive presence.
A child continuously moving between activities may appear occupied, but occupation is not equal to sustained attention. In fact, excessive movement-based teaching may sometimes fragment attention further by training the brain to constantly seek novelty, external stimulation and rapid environmental shifts.
The attention system matures when the brain repeatedly experiences the posture of attention.
Attention is not taught only through instructions such as “look here” or “sit properly.” It develops neurologically when the child repeatedly experiences:
- sitting,
- observing,
- waiting,
- face orientation,
- listening,
- emotional anticipation,
- and sustained social connection.
Thus, the posture of attention becomes as important as the content being taught.
When parents repeatedly spend time with the child in calm sitting-based interaction, the child gradually learns:
“How to stay,”
“How to observe,”
“How to sustain,”
“How to wait,”
“How to connect.”
This is why floor-based sitting interaction possesses enormous developmental value in autism.
The Brain Learns Attention Through Repetition of Attentive States
Human brains develop according to repeated patterns. Neural systems strengthen through repeated experiences.
If a child repeatedly experiences:
- jumping,
- running,
- constant movement,
- rapid visual stimulation,
- object switching,
- screen shifting,
- and fragmented engagement,
then the brain gradually becomes trained toward externally driven shifting attention.
On the other hand, when the child repeatedly experiences:
- calm sitting,
- sustained listening,
- shared gaze,
- emotional waiting,
- turn taking,
- story listening,
- and face-to-face interaction,
the brain gradually develops organized attentional endurance.
Thus, attention improves not merely by increasing stimulation but by repeatedly practising organized states of attention.
This principle is deeply important in autism because many autistic children struggle not only with distraction but also with sustaining socially meaningful attention.
Socialization Cannot Happen with Objects
One of the greatest developmental truths often forgotten in modern autism intervention is this:
Socialization and communication are possible only between two living beings.
Objects do not socialize.
Toys do not emotionally respond.
Mobile phones do not establish reciprocal emotional connection.
Videos do not wait for the child’s emotional response.
Even highly educational applications remain nonliving systems.
Human communication develops through reciprocal emotional anticipation between living nervous systems.
A child learns communication not merely by hearing words but by experiencing:
- facial expressions,
- emotional rhythm,
- eye anticipation,
- shared laughter,
- pauses,
- turn-taking,
- emotional surprise,
- and socially meaningful reactions.
This is why excessive object-focused or screen-focused engagement may unintentionally reduce opportunities for social brain development.
Many children with autism already show a natural tendency toward object preference over face preference. When adults continuously reinforce this pattern through endless toy engagement, repetitive object tasks or screen dependence, the child may become further socially withdrawn.
This process can unintentionally promote desocialization.
The child becomes increasingly skilled in interacting with objects while remaining underexposed to emotionally meaningful human interaction.
Solo Play Versus Shared Play
Independent play has developmental value. However, excessive solo play in autism requires careful monitoring.
A child continuously engaged in:
- lining objects,
- spinning wheels,
- repetitive toy manipulation,
- screen watching,
- solitary sensory play,
- or isolated repetitive routines
may remain behaviourally occupied but socially disconnected.
Parents often feel reassured:
“My child remains busy for hours.”
But developmental progress in autism does not depend upon how long the child remains occupied. It depends upon how meaningfully the child becomes socially connected.
Communication develops socially, not mechanically.
A child repeatedly sharing attention with human beings gradually develops:
- emotional referencing,
- joint attention,
- communicative anticipation,
- symbolic understanding,
- and expressive intent.
This is why shared floor-based interaction often becomes more developmentally valuable than expensive activity-based therapy systems.
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Why Face-to-Face Sitting Games Matter
Face-to-face sitting games possess enormous neurodevelopmental importance because they naturally strengthen:
- sustained attention,
- emotional connection,
- waiting tolerance,
- turn-taking,
- visual orientation,
- social anticipation,
- listening,
- and reciprocal communication.
These games repeatedly bring the child back toward:
another face,
another emotion,
another nervous system.
The therapeutic value lies not merely in the game itself but in the relational architecture surrounding the game.
Traditional games naturally contain:
- pause,
- waiting,
- prediction,
- emotional reactions,
- sequencing,
- and social reciprocity.
This is why many culturally rooted floor games remain highly valuable in autism intervention.
Games such as:
- Snake and Ladder,
- UNO cards,
- Carrom,
- Chawu Mawu,
- Tota Ud Kauwa Ud,
- Ithe Ithe Bais Re Mora,
- Karangali Marangali,
- Hadel Happ Khar Kabutar Doli Dustar,
- Apdi Thapdi,
- Aao Mina Super Sina
are not merely entertainment activities.
They are neurodevelopmental social platforms.
These games naturally stimulate:
- anticipation,
- imitation,
- eye contact,
- listening,
- emotional rhythm,
- verbal participation,
- and shared social enjoyment.
Importantly, these games also reduce excessive performance pressure because the child participates within playful emotional flow rather than structured correction-heavy environments.
Sitting Is Not Punishment
Modern therapeutic culture sometimes unintentionally treats sitting as inactivity and movement as therapy. However, organized sitting is a major developmental milestone.
Sitting calmly with another human being requires:
- postural regulation,
- emotional safety,
- attentional endurance,
- sensory regulation,
- impulse control,
- and social trust.
Many autistic children can move continuously but struggle to remain emotionally organized during stillness.
This is why sitting-based social interaction should not be viewed as passive. It is highly active neurodevelopmental work.
A child learning to:
- sit,
- look,
- listen,
- wait,
- anticipate,
- and emotionally remain connected
is building foundational social cognition.
The Problem with Excessive Screen Exposure
Mobile phones and YouTube videos create one-sided stimulation rather than reciprocal communication.
Screens provide:
- rapid visual reward,
- predictable sensory output,
- immediate stimulation,
- and low social demand.
Consequently, many autistic children become strongly attracted toward screens because screens are neurologically easier than human interaction.
Human interaction requires:
- waiting,
- emotional decoding,
- unpredictability,
- reciprocal response,
- and social adaptation.
However, these difficult human demands are precisely what develop communication.
A child spending excessive time with screens may gradually show:
- reduced face orientation,
- decreased social initiation,
- fragmented attention,
- lower conversational endurance,
- and increased object preference.
Thus, excessive digital engagement may unintentionally weaken social brain practice.
Story Books as a Social Bridge
When parents cannot continuously engage directly due to practical constraints, picture story books become highly valuable alternatives.
Story books help organize:
- sustained attention,
- imagination,
- verbal cognition,
- emotional sequencing,
- and social understanding.
Importantly, books preserve human relational rhythm better than screens because books are usually shared through:
- reading together,
- pointing together,
- reacting together,
- and discussing together.
Books such as:
- Champak,
- All Set to Read,
- simple picture stories,
- emotional narrative books,
- and repetitive rhythmic storytelling books
can significantly strengthen receptive communication.
The child gradually learns:
“What is happening?”
“Who is feeling what?”
“What may happen next?”
“Why did this happen?”
Thus, stories strengthen both cognition and communication simultaneously.
Communication Develops Through Human Presence
Autism intervention sometimes becomes excessively activity-centred while under-recognizing the importance of emotionally available human presence.
Children do not merely need activities.
They need:
- emotionally responsive faces,
- shared laughter,
- waiting eyes,
- meaningful pauses,
- emotional predictability,
- and human connectedness.
A socially disconnected child does not become social merely by performing activities.
The child becomes social through repeated emotionally meaningful human interaction.
This is why:
- face-to-face sitting,
- floor interaction,
- verbal anticipation,
- rhythmic social games,
- and shared emotional participation
remain among the most powerful natural interventions in autism.
The Goal Is Not Busyness. The Goal Is Connection.
Many parents unknowingly spend enormous effort keeping the child continuously occupied:
- therapy to therapy,
- activity to activity,
- toy to toy,
- screen to screen.
However, developmental growth in autism does not emerge from constant occupation.
It emerges from:
- meaningful connection,
- organized attention,
- emotional reciprocity,
- sustained listening,
- and socially shared cognition.
The child does not merely need stimulation.
The child needs another human being.
Conclusion
Attention in autism is best established not through endless movement-based engagement but through repeated experiences of organized attention itself.
When parents spend meaningful time in face-to-face, eye-to-eye, floor-based sitting interaction, the child gradually develops:
- sustained attention,
- emotional connection,
- social anticipation,
- communication readiness,
- and cognitive listening.
Socialization cannot develop meaningfully through objects, screens or isolated repetitive activities alone because communication fundamentally occurs between living human beings.
Excessive dependence on toys, solo play, mobile phones and object-based engagement may unintentionally promote desocialization by reducing opportunities for reciprocal emotional interaction.
Traditional face-to-face games, story listening, sitting interaction and emotionally meaningful shared experiences remain among the most powerful natural methods for developing communication and social cognition in autism.
The goal is not merely to keep the child busy.
The goal is to help the child become socially alive.
Author
Prof. Dr Santosh Kondekar
MBBS, MD (Pediatrics), DNB (Pediatrics), FAIMER
Fellowship in Pediatric Neurology & Epilepsy
Postgraduate Diploma in Developmental Neurology
Professor of Pediatrics
Developmental Neuro Pediatrician
TN Medical College & BYL Nair Hospital, Mumbai
Director — AAKAAR Clinic Child Development Center
Mumbai, India
📞 9869405747
🌐 www.autismdoctor.in
for all post links click https://speechandsenses.blogspot.com/p/httpsspeechandsenses.html for autism ADHD speech delay behaviour disorders epilepsy learning disability
Attention in Autism Begins with the Posture of Attention: Why Sitting-Based Social Learning Matters More Than Endless Activity-Based Engagement
Building Attention in Autism: From Sitting and Social Connection to Listening and Communication
20 main keywords
Autism, attention, sustained attention, sitting tolerance, posture of attention, social attention, face-to-face interaction, eye-to-eye connection, socialization, communication, joint attention, listening, emotional connection, turn-taking, sensory regulation, story listening, social reciprocity, screen exposure, solo play, developmental learning.
10 questions whose answers can be found in the article
Why does the article describe attention in autism as an organized cognitive presence rather than simply physical activity?
Why is the “posture of attention” considered important for developing sustained attention in children with autism?
How can repeated calm sitting, observing, waiting, listening, and face-to-face interaction help strengthen attentional endurance?
Why does the article argue that continuous movement, rapid activity changes, and fragmented engagement may interfere with organized attention?
Why is human-to-human interaction considered essential for developing socialization and communication?
How can excessive use of toys, solo play, mobile phones, and videos reduce opportunities for reciprocal social interaction?
What developmental benefits can face-to-face sitting games provide for children with autism?
Why are traditional games such as Snake and Ladder, UNO, Carrom, and culturally familiar floor games considered useful social-development platforms?
How can shared storybook reading support sustained attention, listening, verbal cognition, emotional understanding, and communication?
Why does the article emphasize that the goal of autism intervention should not be to keep the child busy, but to develop meaningful human connection and social engagement?
Core message:
Sit → Notice → Look → Listen → Wait → Connect → Communicate → Learn.
The article's central proposition is that repeated experiences of organized, socially meaningful attention may be more developmentally valuable than keeping a child continuously occupied through movement, objects, or screens.
20 main keywords
Autism, speech delay, language development, communication, receptive language, listening, auditory attention, language comprehension, semantic understanding, contextual learning, spontaneous communication, prompt dependency, AAC, speech therapy, language intervention, mechanical repetition, phonological intervention, oral motor imitation, naturalistic learning, communication competence.
10 questions whose answers may be found in an article covering these concepts
Why is speech delay in autism more than simply a delay in producing words?
Why are listening and receptive language important foundations for meaningful speech development?
What is semantic understanding, and how does it help a child develop meaningful language?
How does contextual learning help children understand and use words, phrases, and sentences appropriately?
Why should spontaneous communication be encouraged instead of focusing only on prompted verbal responses?
What is prompt dependency, and how can excessive prompting affect a child's communication initiation?
How does mechanical repetition differ from meaningful language learning?
What is AAC, and how can it be incorporated into a broader communication and language-development strategy?
What are the roles and limitations of phonological intervention and oral-motor imitation in speech development?
How can naturalistic learning, meaningful interaction, listening, and contextual language exposure contribute to communication competence in autism?
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