Theory of mind abilities between autistic children' s and the normal children' s parents / 中华行为医学与脑科学杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To compare the theory of mind(TOM) abilities between autistic children's parents and the normal children' s,and to indirectly prove that TOM deficit in autism maybe related to heredity in cognitive neuropsychology.Methods This study examines TOM abilities in 32 autistic children' s parents and 32 normal children' s parents,using the computerized Yoni task and an extensive battery of neuropsychological tests.Results In contrast to findings in the control group,autistic children' s parents showed significantly lower scores in affective theory of mind( (23.06 ±5.12)vs(25.63 ±4.47),P＜0.01 ) and special emotion( ( 10.13 ±4.14)vs ( 14.87 ±2.21 ),P＜0.05),but not in cognitive theory of mind( (22.75 ±5.01 ) vs(22.56 ±5.63),P＞0.05).Conclusion The autistic children' s parents are impaired in affective theory of mind,and to indirectly prove that autistic TOM deficit maybe related to heredity in cognitive neuropsychology.