Theory of mind development : comparing autism spectrum disorder subgroups in light of changing diagnostic criteria

It has been proposed that autism is fundamentally a disorder of social relatedness. Severe deficits in theory of mind (ToM) - or the ability to understand that other people can have mental states different from our own and that these mental states influence behaviour - are commonly thought to explain the social-communicative deficits seen in autism spectrum disorders (ASDs). If deficits in ToM are responsible for the impairments found in ASD, these deficits should be found amongst all individuals with ASD (universality) and must be present throughout the course of the disorder (stability).

Grantor dc:publisher.institution

Department of Psychology

Year dc:date.issued

2011

Author dc:creator

• Robberts, Michelle

Advisors dc:contributor.advisor

• Malcolm-Smith, Susan
• Thomas, Kevin

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/11427/12653

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/12653