Attention Autism

Also called Bucket time, Gina Davies approach, Attention Autism programme

A bucket, some surprising things, and an adult who's genuinely fun. A four-stage way of building shared attention that children want to join.

What it is

Attention Autism is a small-group approach for building attention and shared enjoyment, created by the speech and language therapist Gina Davies. An adult leads a short, highly visual, slightly ridiculous activity, and the children watch because they want to, not because they've been told to. In most schools it's known as bucket time, after the bucket of irresistible toys that stage one is built around.

The point is not the toys. It's that a child learns to focus on what another person is doing, to look where they're looking, and to stay with it, which is joint attention, and joint attention is where language comes from.

Who it can help

Autistic children, mostly in early years and primary, who find it hard to attend to an adult-led activity or to share attention with others. It's used in nurseries, specialist and mainstream schools, and increasingly at home. Some services use it with older children and adults with a learning disability.

It isn't a communication system and it isn't therapy for speech. A child who already attends well and needs vocabulary is better served elsewhere. And it depends heavily on the adult: an unenthusiastic bucket is just a bucket.

How it works

There are four stages, introduced one at a time over weeks or months.

Stage one, the bucket: the adult brings out a bucket of exciting, visually striking toys, one at a time, with a song. The children watch. Nobody has to do anything. Stage two, the attention builder: a bigger, messier, more dramatic activity, such as flour, shaving foam or a lot of ping-pong balls, that holds attention for longer. Stage three, turn-taking and re-engagement: the adult demonstrates, one child has a turn, everyone else watches and then comes back to the group. Stage four, shifting and re-focusing: each child does a version of the activity at their own table, then returns to the group.

Sessions are short, ten to twenty minutes, and the adult narrates in simple, repetitive language, which makes it a good vehicle for modelling with signs or symbols too. The child's only job at stage one is to look.

Getting started

At home, you can run stage one with a bucket, five things that light up, spin or make a noise, and a two-line song you make up. Bring each thing out, react to it as if it's astonishing, put it away, next one. Three minutes. Don't ask the child to do anything.

Do it at the same time each day for a week and watch how quickly the child comes when they hear the song.

In school, ask whether the setting already runs Attention Autism sessions; many do, and joining an existing group is easier than starting one.

Where to get help

Gina Davies' own centre trains practitioners and parents. The National Autistic Society describes attention approaches for autistic children and can help you find local provision. Your speech and language therapy service may run groups or train school staff. Ambitious about Autism works with families of autistic children and young people.