Characteristics of social interactions between mothers and their disabled infants: a review

This paper examines interactional characteristics of disabled infants and young children and their mothers. Interactional characteristics of disabled infants and young children differ from those of non-disabled children in several ways: disabled children provide fewer and less readable cues to the mother; they demonstrate less positive affect, more negative affect, and more muted affect; and they have more difficulties synchronizing turn-taking than non-handicapped children. Maternal interactions with disabled children differ from those of mothers with non-disabled children in dimensions involving maternal activity and positive affect. It is suggested that the social deficits commonly observed in disabled preschoolers and older children may have begun in the altered social interactional patterns observed in infancy. Various intervention strategies are described which assist parents to achieve more pleasurable, reciprocal, child-centered interactions with their disabled infants.