Social interaction between parents and babies: validation of an intervention procedure.

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate a set of intervention procedures developed as part of a parent-infant interaction model from a larger research study on social interaction between parents and their handicapped infants. Data is presented for three dyads, selected to illustrate the applicability of the procedures under a variety of different conditions including ages of the babies, target behaviours chosen and intervention situations. Results indicated that interactions could be altered through direct intervention with the mothers. The procedures used in the Social Interaction Assessment and Intervention model thus seem to be valid for bringing about change in interactions in dyads with a variety of interactive problems, in at least two different types of situations, and with babies differing widely in age and extent of delay.