Megan Critchlow - Psychology
Conclusion
My research question was “To what extent can our understanding of a Theory of Mind help
its development in autistic children through training?” Through the course of my analysis I
have gained a clear understanding of the development of both autistic and normal children’s
Theory of Mind. It’s became evident that often autistic children have the ability to learn
social developing skills, however the majority do not acquire them naturally at the rate of a
typical child.
During my research I have found there are some individuals who manage to build up a
Theory of Mind, for example being able to pass seeing leads to knowing tests. However even
with some of the most remarkable individuals who develop their Theory of Mind to the point
where they can pass these tests, to some extent they still lack and find aspects of a Theory of
Mind confusing. However with the benefits of education and therapeutic interventions
Mindblindness seems to partially alleviate as the child ages.
The interventions I have analysed reiterate the effectiveness of developing a Theory of Mind.
Firstly the use of social skills teaching and mindreading has been shown by Swaggart et al.
(1995) to be effective in Carol Gray’s (1991) social stories. Swaggart et al (1995)
demonstrates how social stories can decrease socially undesirable behaviours, indicating an
understanding of what is inappropriate to others. Secondly Paynter, J. & Peterson C.C. (2012)
showed thought-bubble training was found to be beneficial to autistic children’s Theory of
Mind, thirdly mindreading DVDs such as the transporters have been shown by Golen et al
(2009) to improve autistic children’s ability to interpret the emotion behind facial
expressions. Finally with guidance from S. Wilcox I have found through a study made by
Singh, N. et al, 2006, that mindful parenting has been found to be potentially more beneficial
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