Content area
Full Text
Jaswal & Akhtar (J&A) make a convincing case that while individuals with autism may appear to lack social motivation, this may not be an accurate reflection of their wish to connect with others and be close to them. An additional, important body of research that supports the target article comes from studies of attachment in autism. These studies have convincingly shown that although children with autism have difficulties communicating and interacting with others, their attachment system – the system whose main goal is to seek others, particularly in times of distress – is by and large intact.
Attachment studies indicate that children with autism seek closeness to their caregivers when distressed, are soothed by the caregivers’ presence, and use their caregivers as a secure base for exploration (for a review, see Rutgers et al. 2004). In other words, they form attachments similarly to typically developing children. Moreover, about one-half form secure (rather than insecure) attachments (Rutgers et al. 2004), a figure lower than that of typically developing children, but not different from those of other clinical groups (Feniger-Schaal et al. 2011).
The security of a child's attachment to the caregiver is assessed using Ainsworth's Strange Situation Procedure (SSP; Ainsworth et al. 1978), an observational procedure that includes two separations and reunions between the child and the caregiver and is designed to assess how the child uses the caregiver as a secure base for exploring an unfamiliar environment and as a haven of safety when distressed. Securely attached...