Correlation of the Theory of Mind and the Level of Cognitive Functioning in Autistic Children

Introduction. A deficit in "theory of mind" (ToM), i.e. an inability to conceive what others may be thinking or feeling, has often been posited as an essential feature of childhood autism. Our research goal was to search for correlation between ToM-related tasks and the overall level of cognitive performance in autistic children. Material and methods. The study included 25 autistic children under treat ment at the Specialised Clinic of Diagnosis and Rehabilitation in Lublin, Poland. Each child had been under the care of the clinics for at least three years, and three consecutive series of examinations were administered to each child. We assessed the subjects' ability to initiate interpersonal contact and to make a parent look at an object presented by the subject (task ToM1), as well as their ability to simulate a given action with the use of symbolic objects (task ToM2). The ability to imitate others and the level of cognitive performance was assessed with the Psychoeducational Profile Revised. Results. We found significant correlation between performance on both ToM tasks and cognitive functioning, as well as cognitive verbal scores and the ability to imitate others. Conclusions. The autistic children we studied are capable of making inferences about the mental states of other people and of understanding and predicting their behavior. Moreover, the results of the study suggest that the ability to make social inferences is connected with the level of development of these skills. CORRELATION OF THE THEORY OF MIND AND THE LEVEL OF COGNITIVE FUNCTIONING IN AUTISTIC CHILDREN