Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are commonly associated with a lack of a concept of Theory of Mind (ToM). Wellman (et al, 2001) defined the phrase, theory of mind, which emphasizes that everyday psychology involves seeing oneself and others in terms of mental states—the desires, emotions, beliefs, intentions, and other inner experiences that result in and are manifested in human action. Of the four listed references for this report, three of the studies primarily concentrated on the theory of mind development in children that were not designated with a disability, while another dealt directly with children with known learning disabilities, to include autism spectrum disorder. I compared the results and discussions, and have a hypothesis to present. I hypothesize that what defines theory of mind is innate in all children, but many lack the ability to either interpret or express the concept. Perner (et al, 1994) presents a powerful finding that needs to be considered in preparing ASD children for ToM, that siblings help develop a theory of mind is compatible with the sociocognitive tradition that emphasizes intellectual progress as a function of social interaction among peers and view intellectual growth as a process of internalizing the knowledge already incorporated in the social interaction. The comparative results show very different types of outcomes concerning ToM testing and factors that impact directly and there seems to be some indirect impacts that need to be further investigated. Normal developing children also have problems with ToM testing, yet their advantage is paramount due to their larger understanding of language as indicated in the referenced studies for this experiment.
Methods
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...make more efficient through practice?
Even though I do not have concrete results to support my hypothesis, I do intend on continuing learning with my son. I mean, really, who plays a joke on a disabled kid? Maybe we ought to; they can learn something from it.
Works Cited
Baron-Cohen, S., A.M. Leslie, and U. Frith. 1985. Does the autistic child have a “theory of mind”? Cognition 21: 37-46.
Jenkins, J.M. and Astington, J.W. 1996. Cognitive factors and family structure associated with theory of mind development in young children. Developmental Psychology 32: 70-78.
Perner, J., T. Ruffman, and S.R. Leekam. 1994. Theory of mind is contagious: You catch it from your sibs Child Development 65: 1228-1238.
Wellman, H.M., D. Cross, and J. Watson. 2001. Meta-analysis of theory-of-mind development: the truth about false belief. Child Development 72: 655-684.
Rowe, Peter. “Delving into the Mystery of Autism.” San Diego Union-Tribune 16 October 2001. 9 December 2001
Gross, R., 2013. The Science of Mind And Behaviour. 6 ed. London: Hodder Education .
Siegler, R., & Alibali, M. (2005). Children’s Thinking Fourth Edition. Prentice Hall Inc. Upper Saddle River NJ.
Passer, M., Smith, R., Holt, N., Bremner, A., Sutherland, E., & Vliek, M. (2009). Psychology; Science of Mind and Behaviour. (European Edition). New York.
“Where could anybody be without organizing their own thoughts”(Slater 1)? Imagine living in a world where one could not communicate with anyone around them on a truly rational level, even though the individual is completely rational. Imagine feeling so frightened by life, that one escapes to an Alternate reality, where they become catatonic, or even take on forms of different personalities to deal with everyday situations. Try not being able to communicate through one’s own words, only repeating what others have said in order to get along in life. This is what living with Autism is like. Autism, through the book definition is a “complex developmental disability…that appears during the first three years of life…the result of a neurological disorder that affects the brain.”(ASOA 1). Autism is often accompanied by Multiple Personality Disorder, which helps the person escape to a world, or situation where they can feel, “so called” normal. Multiple Personality Disorder is curable, and Autism is treatable, so with counseling and socialization with others, patients can be functiong members of society. Both disorders have to be treated, and worked at which is a form of re-socialization.
Björklund, D. F. (2012). Children‘s thinking: Cognitive development and individual differences (5th Ed.). Belmont: Wadsworth.
Children with autism have multiple characteristic impairments in their social interaction skills. This results from the lack of “Theory of Mind” in autistic individuals. Autistic children have difficulty interpreting what another person may be thinking or feeling. Social impairments may cause the child to act inappropriately in social interactions and prevent the children from truly taking part in interactions. The children have difficulty recognizing social cues and responding to cues. Autistic children have a hard time forming relationships as a result of these impairments. Social stories, Applied Behavior Analysis, and Pivotal Response Training are three therapy techniques that help children with autism learn appropriate social behavior. Social stories allow the children to practice the situation in a lower stress environment. Applied Behavior Analysis utilizes positive reinforce to teach desired skills. Pivotal Response Training allows the child to learn social skills while in a natural play environment. Learning social skills through these techniques enable the children to have more meaningful relationships and engage more in their community.
Cacioppo, J. T., & Freberg, L. A. (2012). Discovering Psychology: The Science of the Mind:
Part of the disruption in communication and social interaction that occurs with many individuals who have autism can be better explained by the Theory of Mind and Executive Function Theory. These two theories are very similar in nature in that they both place great emphasis on the executive function of the mind. Executive functions are “cognitive abilities that appear to depend on the prefrontal cortex” of the brain (Pinel, 2014, p. 349). Executive function also encompasses “innovative thinking, lateral thinking, insightful thinking, and assimilating new information to update plans and strategies” (Pinel, 2014, p. 349). This is significant because the executive function of the brain can impact one’s ability to empathize and relate to others, interpret and sustain social interactions, and process new information (Williams et al, 2014). Many times individuals with autism are unable to understand and process what others are feeling. For example, they can recognize sadness or when somebody is crying, but they do not associate with it. It’s not that they don’t feel these emotions themselves, they absolutely do. However, they may have trouble connecting and relating to those feelings when they see somebody else experiencing them. This can result in difficulty in making and sustaining relationships with
The concept of ‘theory of mind’ is a complex one with various considerations. It can basically be defined as, ‘The ability to understand or ‘read’ the mind of another individual; the ability to ‘put oneself in the place of another’,’ (Smith and Stevens 2002). Essentially, ‘theory of mind’ is concerned with the ideal that a person can comprehend what another person in the same situation may be thinking, or the way in which they may be feeling, without the necessity for direct contact and communication to establish that information. The paramount dilemma for psychologists researching this area of evolutionary psychology, is the difficulty in ensuring that it genuinely is the mind of another individual that a person is responding to, rather than their overt behaviour, bearing in mind the impossibility of looking directly into another’s mind.
Ramachandran, Vilayanur S., and Lindsay S. Oberman. "Broken Mirrors: A Theory of Autism." Scientific American Journal. (2006): 62-69. Web. 29 Nov. 2013.
Gross, R (2010). Psychology: The science of mind and behaviour. 6th ed. London: Hodder Education. p188.
In the article by, Jeffrey S. Nevid, he mainly focuses on the mind-set of Sigmund Freud’s theory. I found this very helpful as well because it related to the way people think and how the mind develops from an infant to an adult.
While completing my practicum this last semester I observed an seven year old boy named J. J is a second grader in a mixed first and second grade Montessori classroom at Sandhills Primary School. He is smart and excels at science. J is also on the autism spectrum. He is the first born to his twin brother. They are not in the same class due to different academic levels, but they have a very good relationship. In comparison to his twin J seems to be more advanced academically and physically. While Kidwatching J I was able to learn a lot about the way that he thinks and learns. Throughout this paper I will discuss J’s physical, affective, and cognitive development.
Vygotsky, L. (1978). Mind In Society:the development of higher psychological processes. Cambridge, Ma: Harvard University Press.