response to theory of mind videos

     Coming from a behavioral background, I'm a little bit skeptical of the theory of mind. In the practice of Applied Behavior Analysis, we focus on objectively observable behavior as well as observable environmental causes of that behavior. And we do not focus on thoughts or mental processes. It would be contradictory to a behavior analyst's job to attribute the cause of someone's behavior to a certain state of mind.
    Having said that, there are certain behaviors that could be considered to be consistent with having a theory of mind. For example, basic social questions such asking someone "How are you?" or "What do you think about ___?" are indicative of someone having a theory of mind. And children with ASD can be taught to ask these questions as well as being taught to appropriately respond to the questionees answer. After someone acquires and performs these skills, we still cannot say that they have a theory of mind. We can only say that they "behave in a way that is consistent with having a theory of mind."
Overall, I'm reluctant to say that theory of mind should be considered when as asessing children with ASD. Assessors should focus on the child'd ability to learn and their ability to perform pivotal skills such as generalized imitation and receptive and expressive language. When a child has the appropriate skills, they can be taught to perform the socially significant behaviors that are products of a theory of mind.
   To conclude, I do not think theory of mind should be rejected altogether. I just think it should be identified in terms of behavioral charactersitics rather than mentalistic processes.