Joint attention involves the organization of attention between oneself, an object or event, and another person with the purpose of sharing interest. Simply put, joint attention requires a child to "socially coordinate the attention with other people." This initiating of joint attention (as opposed to responding to joint attention) is particularly important in understanding social and affective deficits in autism. Autism is a disorder characterized by an impairment in communication and social interactions, and restricted and repetitive behaviors with symptoms beginning before the age of three. One of the criteria for being diagnosed with autism, according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of the American Psychiatric Association, is "a lack of spontaneous seeking to share enjoyment, interests, or achievements with other people (e.g., by a lack of showing, bringing, or pointing out objects of interest)." These shared experiences are necessary to acquire language, and they are also facilitated by joint attention. In this article, the authors list ways to teach a child to respond to bids for joint attention and to initiate joint attention.