Joint attention is a skill that is learned at a young age and occurs when two people share a common focus on and interest in an object, event, or person due to one person alerting another. This skill can emerge as early as nine months of age and should be well-established by 18 months of age. Joint attention involves social and communication skills, and these cannot develop well without acquisition of joint attention. Children with autism have deficits in social and communication skills, and many speculate that an interruption in the development of joint attention in these children contributes to these deficits. Therefore, it is important to encourage the development…