Theory of Mind Differences Between Children with and without Autism Spectrum Disorder Following Social Story Intervention

Conference Year

January 2021

Abstract

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is characterized by impairments in social interaction and social communication (American Psychiatric Association [APA], 2013). At the core of the social impairment is a likely deficit in the Theory of Mind (ToM). This study uses ToM measures to assess emotion recognition and desire-based emotions pre- and post-intervention in neurotypical and ASD children between the ages of 8 and 12 following nine weeks of social-cognitive intervention (i.e., individualized Social Stories). Results showed that neurotypical children have greater emotion recognition and understanding of desire-based emotion than children with ASD, and that children with ASD exhibit variable improvements in their ToM following social story (SS) intervention.

Primary Faculty Mentor Name

Patricia Prelock

Faculty/Staff Collaborators

Patricia Prelock (Faculty Mentor)

Status

Undergraduate

Student College

College of Arts and Sciences

Program/Major

Neuroscience

Primary Research Category

Social Sciences

Abstract only.

Share

COinS
 

Theory of Mind Differences Between Children with and without Autism Spectrum Disorder Following Social Story Intervention

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is characterized by impairments in social interaction and social communication (American Psychiatric Association [APA], 2013). At the core of the social impairment is a likely deficit in the Theory of Mind (ToM). This study uses ToM measures to assess emotion recognition and desire-based emotions pre- and post-intervention in neurotypical and ASD children between the ages of 8 and 12 following nine weeks of social-cognitive intervention (i.e., individualized Social Stories). Results showed that neurotypical children have greater emotion recognition and understanding of desire-based emotion than children with ASD, and that children with ASD exhibit variable improvements in their ToM following social story (SS) intervention.