ABSTRACT
Joint attention refers to the situation when two people are thinking about the same activity. One of the best ways of helping young children with delays in attention, language and play skills is to use song and rhyme to get them interested in the music of sounds, and the repetition of familiar actions. By repeating songs and rhymes over and over again, and combining them with simple actions, children start to hear familiar sounds and recognise patterns. They begin to anticipate what comes next. This improves their willingness to listen and watch carefully and helps their other language and communication skills Joint attention is very important for the healthy development of children. Young children or children with delays cannot easily join in with adult's thinking. Many children with communication delays enjoy TV and video and very repetitive forms of play.
