Autism Theory Of Mind Research Paper
Does an Autistic Child Develop a “Theory of Mind”?
Autistic spectrum disorder (ASD) and autism are both terms for a group of disorders of brain development. The disorders are varied by difficulties in impairment in verbal and nonverbal communication, repetitive behaviors, and in social behaviors. Statistics has shown that 1 in 68 American children have autism while ASD is 5 more times common among boys than girls. Many research groups have performed studies to see if children with autism develop a theory of mind. Daily social life is dependent on one's ability to evaluate the behavior of other people on the basis of their mental state, this is accomplished by cognitive systems referred to as a theory of mind. Autism Speaks defined a theory …show more content…
One known task is the hallmark false-belief tasks that requires a child distinguishes between the world as it really is and the way it might be represented in the mind of another person. One commonly known false-belief task is the classic Sally-Anne. A child is told the following story, accompanied by supporting props or toys: Sally places her ball in a basket and goes outside to play; while she is gone Anne takes the ball from the basket and hides it in a box. The child is asked where Sally will look for the hidden ball when she returns to play with it again. This specific task is used to test a theory of mind skills in children. Around two decades ago, Baron-Cohen and colleagues introduced the theory-of-mind hypothesis to explain the behavioral symptoms that characterize ASD. Initial studies of theirs had shown that most children with ASD whose mental and verbal abilities that were beyond 4-year-old level failed the Sally-Anne tasks. (FRITH, 1985) Children with autism normally have executive-function deficits that require planning, flexibility and working memory that are combined with inhibitory control. While autistic children have executive-function deficits, it has also been shown that language ability has been closely linked to the development of a theory of mind skills. (Tager-Flusberg,
Autistic spectrum disorder (ASD) and autism are both terms for a group of disorders of brain development. The disorders are varied by difficulties in impairment in verbal and nonverbal communication, repetitive behaviors, and in social behaviors. Statistics has shown that 1 in 68 American children have autism while ASD is 5 more times common among boys than girls. Many research groups have performed studies to see if children with autism develop a theory of mind. Daily social life is dependent on one's ability to evaluate the behavior of other people on the basis of their mental state, this is accomplished by cognitive systems referred to as a theory of mind. Autism Speaks defined a theory …show more content…
One known task is the hallmark false-belief tasks that requires a child distinguishes between the world as it really is and the way it might be represented in the mind of another person. One commonly known false-belief task is the classic Sally-Anne. A child is told the following story, accompanied by supporting props or toys: Sally places her ball in a basket and goes outside to play; while she is gone Anne takes the ball from the basket and hides it in a box. The child is asked where Sally will look for the hidden ball when she returns to play with it again. This specific task is used to test a theory of mind skills in children. Around two decades ago, Baron-Cohen and colleagues introduced the theory-of-mind hypothesis to explain the behavioral symptoms that characterize ASD. Initial studies of theirs had shown that most children with ASD whose mental and verbal abilities that were beyond 4-year-old level failed the Sally-Anne tasks. (FRITH, 1985) Children with autism normally have executive-function deficits that require planning, flexibility and working memory that are combined with inhibitory control. While autistic children have executive-function deficits, it has also been shown that language ability has been closely linked to the development of a theory of mind skills. (Tager-Flusberg,