From ‘ Theory of Mind ’ in 1985 to ‘ Empathizing - Systemizing ’ in 2012

It is now 27 years since the publication of the first article testing whether children with autism have a theory of mind (in 1985). The original study by my colleagues Alan Leslie and Uta Frith and I found that some 80% of children with autism failed this test that most typical children of 4 years old could pass. It concluded that this could not be attributed to general developmental delay or learning difficulties, because in a control group of children with Down Syndrome, some 80% of them passed. The results has been replicated dozens of times,suggesting this is a robust finding. This initial paper is considered important for 10 reasons.