Nathan Likes Toy Bunny; Signs for More; Joint Attention

Video Summary

Latha Soorya, PhD, uses Nathan's interest in a toy rabbit to assess his nonverbal communication skills. Though Nathan uses several positive nonverbal communication skills when he gives the rabbit to Dr. Soorya and signs for more, he rarely coordinates eye contact or vocalization with these requests. His language delay is also clear in that he cannot generate language even when very motivated to request the bunny. Additionally, he appears to become fixated on the bunny, crying when Dr. Soorya puts it away. Nathan's poor coordination of nonverbal cues, lack of expressive language and fixated interest on the bunny are all suggestive of an autism spectrum disorder.