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Autism
Published in Nichola Tyler, Anne Sheeran, Working with Autistic People in the Criminal Justice and Forensic Mental Health Systems, 2022
Theory of Mind is the ability to (meta)represent mental states in oneself and others; impairment of this ability is integral to autism (Happé, 2015), and will affect the ability to engage in reciprocal social communication, hindering the development of friendships. The autistic person may be unable to accurately identify another person’s subtle emotional state, and consequently might be considered disrespectful, rude, or lacking empathy because of their failure to read nonverbal cues in others. A number of characteristics typically affect the reciprocity and quality of conversation and social interaction. These include a disarming honesty, with a tendency to make literal interpretations of what others say. There may be a limited development of the arts of persuasion, compromise, and conflict resolution, with difficulty recognising and accepting an alternative perspective. The person may be greatly confused by idioms, figures of speech, and sarcasm.
Social interaction, the beginnings of communication, and the development of a theory of mind
Published in Miguel Pérez-Pereira, Gina Conti-Ramsden, Language Development and Social Interaction in Blind Children, 2019
Miguel Pérez-Pereira, Gina Conti-Ramsden
In this section, we have argued that prelinguistic communication develops through alternative routes in blind children. Blind children have opportunities to develop socially and communicatively within the context of interactions where other sensory modalities other than vision are used and explored. We have also emphasized the crucial compensatory role that language plays in blind children’s development and the positive effects of early interactive, joint attention routines can have in the development of the child as a social, communicative being. In the next section we turn to a specific aspect of social cognition—theory of mind. We begin with a brief historical review. Then, we move to discuss the development of theory of mind in normal children and children with autism. These discussions provide the context for an evalution of (1) blind children’s theory of mind abilities, and (2) the superficial similarities that are sometimes observed between blind children and children with autism. The chapter then ends with some brief concluding remarks.
Social-emotional aspects of visual impairment
Published in John Ravenscroft, The Routledge Handbook of Visual Impairment, 2019
In bringing the world to the young child with VI, adults should not only consider the physical world but also the social world. Through experiences and language interactions, adults can foster an interest in other people’s minds, their feelings and emotions (Silkenbeumer et al., 2016). This will promote the development of theory of mind.
“Unheard minds, again and again”: autistic insider perspectives and theory of mind
Published in Disability and Rehabilitation, 2022
Abigail Holt, Khadija Bounekhla, Christie Welch, Helene Polatajko
A near century of autism research has produced a myriad of theories explaining autistic etiology and behaviour. Theory of Mind (ToM) represents one of the most persistent and widely researched frameworks for understanding the social and communication difficulties commonly associated with autism [1]. While ToM was first introduced in the primatology field in the late 1970s [2], it was introduced into the Autism literature by Baron-Cohen, Leslie, and Frith in 1985. Based on their clinical observations of three groups of children, “autistic”, “down-syndrome”, and “clinically normal” (p.40), Baron-Cohen, Leslie, and Frith [3] concluded that the autistic group had an impaired ToM, an inability to understand "that other people know, want, feel, or believe things" [3, p. 38]. This interpretation of their observation has come to characterize the autistic individual within medical and public discourse as being incapable of interpreting, predicting, and participating in social behaviour [4].
The Role Played by Theory of Mind and Empathy in the Feigning of Psychopathology
Published in International Journal of Forensic Mental Health, 2022
Marzia Di Girolamo, Luciano Giromini, Jessica Bosi, Lara Warmelink, Ilaria La Scala, Caterina Loiacono, Federica Miraglia, Alessandro Zennaro
During the first years of life, children develop Theory of Mind (ToM; Frith & Frith, 1999). ToM is a combination of processes, separated but interconnected, that contribute to improving someone’s capabilities to understand others’ behaviors and to make inferences about them. In normal conditions, this development starts at about 18 months with joint attention and protodeclarative pointing. From ages 3 to 4, children can represent others’ mental states, i.e. they understand that other people can have a representation of the world different from their own – I understand that my mental state does not correspond to your own. From 6 to 7, children also understand that other people can represent mental states of others, even if these mental states do not correspond between them – I understand that your representation about his/her state of mind is wrong because it is different from my representation about his/her state of mind. The last level, the faux-pas, is the most developed one: when someone says/does something they should not have said/done, not realizing that they should not have said/done it (Gregory et al., 2002; Stone et al., 1998). A good example of a faux-pas is a gaffe. To understand that a gaffe is occurring, the beholder has to represent two mental states: that of the person who does not understand that a sentence/behavior is inappropriate, and that of the other person hearing/seeing it, who would feel insulted or hurt. Once someone can understand the “Feel Hurt” element alongside the ToM elements that developed earlier, faux-pas can be understood and ToM is complete.
A model for teaching in learner-centred clinical settings
Published in Medical Teacher, 2021
Rebecca Sternschein, Margaret M. Hayes, Subha Ramani
Theory of mind is the ability of individuals to understand that others’ mental states (beliefs, desires, emotions and perspectives) are different from their own (Leslie 1987). We think that the capacity to recognise that learners’ knowledge, skills, emotions, perspectives and learning needs are distinct from their own and unique to each learner is essential for learner-centred clinical teaching. Teaching in the clinical setting often means teaching multi-level trainees with different background experience, knowledge, and skill, therefore learner awareness is essential for successful learner-centred education. Whilst it is important for clinical teachers to understand unique learner needs, we argue that it is more important to communicate effectively with a diverse set of learners and respond to their needs.