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The social context of developments in theory of mind and communicative competence: Evidence from mother-child conversations with children with autism, Asperger syndrome, specific language impairment, and normal development

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 October 2015

Kathryn Ziatas ,
Kevin Durkin  and
Chris Pratt
Kathryn Ziatas*
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, The University of Western Australia
Kevin Durkin
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, The University of Western Australia
Chris Pratt
Affiliation:
School of Psychological Science, La Trobe University
*
Department of Psychology, University of Western Australia, NEDLANDS WA 6907, Fax: (08) 9380 1006, E-mail: kathy@psy.uwa.edu.au
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Abstract

The relationship of maternal conversational input to theory of mind development was examined in a study of mother-child conversation involving children with autism, Asperger syndrome, specific language impairment (SLI), and normol development. Speech act analysis using Dore's (1986) categories was completed for conversation samples taken between mother and child during a toy selection task Comparisons of moternal assertions revealed lower proportions of reference to internal stote used with children with autism, Asperger syndrome, and SLI compared to those with normol children. Significant positive associations existed between the children's production of mental assertions and maternal descriptions, explanations, evaluations, attributions of another's internal state, organizational devices, clarifications, and requests for process. There were also significant positive associations between children's theory of mind development and moternal descriptions, explanations, clarifications, acknowledgments, rhetorical questions, and responses to process questions.These results indicate the importance of an elaborative style of maternal conversation to the development of theory of mind.

Keywords

Asperger syndromeautismlanguagemoternal inputspecific language impoirmenttheory of mind
Type
Research Article
Information
The Educational and Developmental Psychologist , Volume 17 , Issue 1 , 2000 , pp. 90 - 109
Copyright
Copyright © Australian Psychological Society 2000

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