Theory of mind relates to the ability of a person to see
aspects of the mind such as beliefs, perceptions, emotions and desires from not
only their own perspective but from that of others. By being able to apply and understand these
in oneself, it can allow the person to be able to better understand and predict how
another person will behave.
Children start to develop Theory of Mind, or an
understanding of other people’s feelings and motivations, at around four years
of age. That does not seem to happen for
children with autism.
People on the autism spectrum seem to have less ability
to empathise or predict how another person may behave which is why others comment
that they have poor communication and social skills.
Here is a simple example
of how Theory of Mind and autism interact.
A child with autism was instructed
by his teacher, ‘Go and ask Mr Smith [another teacher] if he would like a cup
of coffee’. The child went and found Mr Smith and delivered the question, but
then came straight back without waiting for the reply: he did not realize that
the intention of these communications was to find out whether
Mr Smith wanted a drink.
Children with autism struggle with day to day conversation
because they don’t pick up on the cues implied in the sentences nor can they
read body language or facial expressions.
All they hear are the specific words you have used.
A woman is presenting the status
of a project she has been working on at the end of a long staff meeting. Toward the middle of her presentation she
notices a colleague looks at her watch and sighs. A man at the meeting starts to nod off while
others become fidgety. Her boss asks her
to “wrap it up” and even though she is not finished, she decides to end her
presentation. As people begin to exit
the room, her colleague who was on the verge of falling asleep while she was
talking tells her that her project sounds very interesting.
Typical people often take for
granted how much we use our understanding of other people’s thoughts and
feelings to guide our social interactions.
In the example above, the speaker was able to read the nonverbal cues of
others indicating that they were bored and tired; consequently, she decided to
end her presentation. The presenter did
not take the phrase “wrap it up” literally, and she knew that the boss intended
“it” to mean the presentation, even though this had to be implied from the
context. Finally, the speaker probably
realized that her sleepy colleague’s comment about her project is probably a
“white lie”, and that his comment did not match his belief or behavior, but
instead reflected his desire to please her.
Now imagine being a person with an autism spectrum disorder faced with a
situation similar to the scenario presented above. An individual within the autism spectrum most
likely would have behaved differently as a result of not being privy to the
mental states of others.
The challenge faced by parents, friends, professionals and
carers of people with autism spectrum disorder is to help them to become better
at understanding empathy and the views from another person’s perspective.
That’s where stories can be very useful. They lead children through the social
situations they are likely to encounter and can help them learn to interpret
what they see and hear.
I would love to hear your views and comments on this issue
as well as what techniques you have used to help your children cope with social
situations. Your comments, thoughts and
experiences could make a valuable resource for others.
