Reasons for using joint action routines (JARs) with children with ASD

Children with ASD often demonstrate strong memory skills as well as a desire for predictability and routine in their daily lives. For these reasons, they learn new skills best when instructional strategies take these learning styles into account. JARs allow children to use their rote learning strengths by providing them with a relatively “fixed” activity with predictable and repeated communication opportunities. They learn from adult modeling and cues that are highly organized and predictable. As a result they better understand what to say or do. The child basically learns a “script” for the routine just like an actor would learn lines in a play. Confusion is minimized and participation increased.

Think about yourself and the routine interactions you find yourself in daily. Whether you are ordering food at a restaurant, playing a sports game, or attending a social event, you are most comfortable when you know the “rules of the game.” When you are familiar with the routine and have experienced the activity before, you are more relaxed, and more likely to actively participate and “take risks.”

The same is true for children with ASD. When children with ASD know what to do in a given situation, they are more likely to interact with others more fully. Once comfortable with the routine and the “script” they have learned, they will be able to expand on their actions and increase communication skills within the routine.

What might a joint action routine look like?

A JAR may be very simple or quite complex. It may be as simple as this:

A father and child sit down on the floor with a bubble container between them. They take turns blowing and popping bubbles. The father creates a predictable sequence of opening the jar, taking out the wand, blowing and then popping the bubbles. The father uses simple words attached to each action. This exact sequence is repeated over and over again as they continue to play. Over time the father creates pauses in his words and actions, while the child fills in the blanks of the script. As the routine is repeated, the child learns to become more spontaneous in his actions and words.

Or it may seem more complex:

Three children and their teacher act out a familiar story about Little Red Riding Hood. The teacher reads the story to them and the sequence of the story is reviewed both verbally and with pictures. Each child is assigned specific roles, and props are used to tell the story. Initially the adult verbally models what the child should say, providing a verbal “script. Actions are modeled and the story is repeated every day. The teacher fades out her support as the children become more independent with their role. The children are allowed to change roles and continue the play. The story varies later as they tell the same story using puppets.

As you can see joint action routines may vary from simple to complex depending on the child you are interacting with. However, both examples illustrate the basic elements of a JAR. These basic elements are:

Predictable, logical and repeatable over time.

The following section highlights major components of an effective JAR.