Inspiring Social Referencing: Following Eyes
When we interact with people, we don’t just talk or make eye contact; we also interpret a number of non-verbal cues they give us (like where they are looking, or their facial expression), and we pull important information from that.
Although Joaquin has nice eye contact, we’ve recently realized that sometimes he has a challenge recognizing where we are looking. With the intention to help Joaquin perceive and practice following somebody else’s eyes, Aaron created fun social loops into their game of going to Mars, pointing with his eyes to potential things they could take on their trip.
Notice Aaron’s playful way to motivate him, his consistency with this intention throughout their whole play session, and how quickly Joaquin responds to it.