Background: Theory of mind (ToM) is the ability to recognize, comprehend, and consider oneself's and others' mental states and perspectives to predict and explain behaviors and motivations. It is widely accepted that children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) experience difficulties with ToM. However, there are also findings suggesting that ToM abilities might also be compromised in children with Developmental Language Disorders (DLD).
Purpose: To assess ToM abilities in three groups of children: 1. ASD with no language difficulties; 2. DLD, known for their language disorder; and 3. TD with no language issues.
Materials And Methods: A total of 41 preschool children aged 5-to-6 were examined and assigned to one of the three groups based on previous clinical reports and a standardized Hebrew language assessment tool. Nonverbal IQ was established with a standardized test to verify within average range placement (>75 IQ). ToM skills were examined with a Hebrew version of the and parent's questionnaire
Results: Children with ASD had significantly lower ToM scores compared to the children with DLD, and TD. The ToM scores of the children with DLD were similar to the scores of the TD children. According to the parents' questionnaires, both the ASD children and the DLD children had less developed ToM skills compared to their TD peers.
Conclusion: The present findings suggest that children with ASD have a fundamental difficulty in ToM that is independent of their language abilities. Children with DLD show difficulties in everyday social interactions that involve ToM. It is possible that both ASD and language disorders influence ToM development, suggesting that different developmental routes affect the acquisition of ToM.
Download full-text PDF |
Source |
|---|---|
| http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9578470 | PMC |
| http://dx.doi.org/10.2147/NDT.S331988 | DOI Listing |
Publication Analysis
Top Keywords
Similar Publications
In depth profiling of dihydrolipoamide dehydrogenase deficiency in primary patients fibroblasts reveals metabolic reprogramming secondary to mitochondrial dysfunction.
Mol Genet Metab Rep
March 2025
The Shmunis School of Biomedicine and Cancer Research, The George S. Wise Faculty for Life Sciences, Sagol School of Neurosciences, Tel Aviv University, 6997801 Tel Aviv, Israel.
Dihydrolipoamide dehydrogenase (DLD) deficiency is an autosomal recessive disorder characterized by a functional disruption in several critical mitochondrial enzyme complexes, including pyruvate dehydrogenase and α-ketoglutarate dehydrogenase. Despite DLD's pivotal role in cellular energy metabolism, detailed molecular and metabolic consequences of DLD deficiency (DLDD) remain poorly understood. This study represents the first in-depth multi-omics analysis, specifically metabolomic and transcriptomic, of fibroblasts derived from a DLD-deficient patient compound heterozygous for a common Ashkenazi Jewish variant (c.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMultilingualism and developmental language disorder in Southeast Asian speech-language pathology practice: An international survey.
Int J Speech Lang Pathol
January 2025
Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK.
Purpose: This study aims to explore the current practices and challenges faced by speech-language pathologists in three Southeast Asian countries (Malaysia, Indonesia, and Vietnam) in assessing and treating multilingual children with developmental language disorder.
Method: A survey was designed and administered to 110 speech-language pathologists across Malaysia, Indonesia, and Vietnam. The survey contained 60 questions on current practices and knowledge of existing resources for assessing and treating multilingual children with developmental language disorder.
Early Childhood Practitioners' Use of Language Facilitation Strategies During Informational Book Reading: Relation to Language Skills of Children With Developmental Language Disorder.
Lang Speech Hear Serv Sch
January 2025
College of Education, Florida State University, Tallahassee.
Purpose: The primary aim of the study was to examine the association between early childhood practitioners' use of language facilitation strategies during interactive book reading of informational texts related to science and the language skills of preschool children with developmental language disorder (DLD).
Method: Twenty-four practitioners (12 early childhood special education teachers and 12 speech-language pathologists) and 33 preschoolers with DLD participated. Practitioners received training and implemented an informational book-reading intervention for 19 weeks.
Finding the Mole and Choosing the Apple: Executive Function Challenges in Children with Developmental Language Disorder (DLD).
Children (Basel)
December 2024
Facultad de Psicología y Logopedia, Instituto Universitario de Neurociencias de la Universidad de La Laguna (IUNE), Universidad de La Laguna, 38200 La Laguna, Spain.
Background: Children with a developmental language disorder (DLD) frequently experience deficits in cognitive skills such as working memory (WM) and sustained attention (SA), which are closely related to language development. Yet, these cognitive deficits remain underexplored in early childhood, particularly during the preschool years.
Objective: This study explores WM and SA in Chilean preschoolers with a DLD compared to their typically developing (TD) peers, using the nonverbal tasks "Torpo the Clumsy Mole" for WM and the Continuous Performance Task (CPT) "Duno and the Worms" for SA, both from the Child Neuropsychological Evaluation Test (TENI in Spanish).
Defining Developmental Language Disorder and Dyslexia in Schools: A Mixed-Methods Analysis.
J Speech Lang Hear Res
January 2025
Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, MGH Institute of Health Professions, Boston, MA.
Purpose: Interprofessional practice requires regular communication between professionals from different disciplines using shared terminology. Within schools, many professionals are tasked with supporting children with language disorders, namely, developmental language disorder (DLD) and/or dyslexia. Limited information exists as to (a) how school-based professionals' definitions of DLD and dyslexia align with research definitions, (b) how different school-based professionals define language disorders, (c) how school-based professionals' definitions of DLD and dyslexia align across professional groups, and (d) how one's definition of a language disorder correlates with other measures of knowledge.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWant AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?
Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!