Everyday social and conversation applications of theory-of-mind understanding by children with autism-spectrum disorders or typical development

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Peterson, C., Garnett, M. S., Kelly, A. B., & Attwood, T. (2008). Everyday social and conversation applications of theory-of-mind understanding by children with autism-spectrum disorders or typical development. European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 18(2), 105-115. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00787-008-0711-y

Publication date: 22 Sep 2008 Added to AutiHub: 7 Sep 2026 Type: Article Article language: English
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Authors

Publication authors
4
Publication authors identified as autistic
2 / 4 (50.0%)
  1. Candida Peterson
  2. Michelle Sarah Garnett *
  3. Adrian B. Kelly
  4. Tony Attwood *

Abstract

Children with autism-spectrum disorders (ASD) often fail laboratory false-belief tests of theory of mind (ToM). Yet how this impacts on their everyday social behavior is less clear, partly owing to uncertainty over which specific everyday conversational and social skills require ToM understanding. A new caregiver-report scale of these everyday applications of ToM was developed and validated in two studies. Study 1 obtained parent ratings of 339 children (85 with autism; 230 with Asperger's; 24 typically-developing) on the new scale and results revealed (a) that the scale had good psychometric properties and (b) that children with ASD had significantly more everyday mindreading difficulties than typical developers. In Study 2, we directly tested links between laboratory ToM and everyday mindreading using teacher ratings on the new scale. The sample of 25 children included 15 with autism and 10 typical developers aged 5-12 years. Children in both groups who passed laboratory ToM tests had fewer everyday mindreading difficulties than those of the same diagnosis who failed. Yet, intriguingly, autistic ToM-passers still had more problems with everyday mindreading than younger typically-developing ToM-failers. The possible roles of family conversation and peer interaction, along with ToM, in everyday social functioning were considered.

Bibliography cited by this reference

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Cited bibliography overview

These indicators describe the bibliography cited by this publication. An author name is counted each time it appears in one cited reference, so the same person can be counted more than once. Names not yet linked to an author already present in AutiHub are treated as unknown, not as non-autistic. Last computed: 12 Sep 2026 01:04.

Cited references
38
With a DOI
25
Without a DOI, from raw bibliography text
10
0 / 38 (0.0%) cited references include at least one author identified as autistic.
References with data to complete
7 / 38 (18.4%)
References with detected author names
32 / 38 (84.2%)
Without detected author names
6
Without a structured title
4
Without a stable identifier
10
References with raw author names still to review
3
References with external metadata lookup issues
0
These indicators apply to cited references displayed on this page, after technical duplicates have been merged. A reference without a DOI can still support author statistics when a title and author names are available.
Author names detected in the cited bibliography
59
From DOI or external metadata
59
From validated raw bibliography text
0
Raw names already validated
0
Raw names still to review
5
16 / 59 (27.1%) names are linked to an author already present in AutiHub. 43 / 59 (72.9%) names are not yet linked.
Names linked to a person identified as autistic
0 / 59 (0.0%)
Calculated across all author names detected in the cited bibliography. Among names linked to an author already present in AutiHub: 0 / 16 (0.0%). Distinct people identified as autistic: 0 / 45 (0.0%).
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