Early Social Interactions: Observational Tool for Preschool Teachers

Maša Vidmar, Manja Veldin, Claudio Paolucci, Gabriele Giampieri and Gaja Jamniker Krevh

Summary:  In the paper, we present the NEMO observational tool of early social interactions for early childhood and care practitioners. The tool is the result of the European NEMO project. The observational tool was designed using semiotics and is based on the observation of the bodily and pre-linguistic interactions between toddler and caregiver, more specifically on the child‘s ability of attunement. It was developed to enhance practitioners‘ sensitivity to the occurrence of potentially alarming signs in early social interactions between infants/toddlers (9-18 months) and adults. This is important, because disorders in social interaction and social communication, in addition to restricted and repetitive patterns of interest and activity, occur in individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and early diagnosis and intervention is essential for a favourable outcome. In this sense, the NEMO observation tool can help to identify infants/toddlers, where there is a potential need for further monitoring. The observation tool has three dimensions of attunement: sensorimotor (bodily), behavioural and emotional. Each contains detailed but simple descriptions of specific features on a scale of 1 to 8 (higher scores indicate more frequent or more pronounced unusual/unexpected behaviours or difficulties). A pilot implementation in one kindergarten in Ljubljana showed encouraging results - practitioners found the observation tool feasible, understandable, manageable and useful in observing children. They also made suggestions for improvements.