Theory of mind is the ability of an individual to attribute mental states to other individuals, and to understand that not everyone has the same feelings, wants, needs, etc. To me, theory of mind is a foundation in forming reciprocal, meaningful relationships with other people which is necessary to lead a successful life. If an individual with Autism does not have theory of mind, we want them to get to that point if possible and cannot find out what they are capable of and which direction to take in teaching without first assessing.

Therefore, I do believe that theory of mind should be considered when assessing a child with Autism. Because of my background and the population that I work with, I feel there is so much more to a child with Autism than just their observable behaviors. For instance, if we're purely looking at behaviors, the child who pointed at the cabinet for chocolate would have mastered that skill. However, that skill has no meaning if he does not understand that first, others must be present in order to get his needs met and second, others must understand what his pointing indicates. While I do agree that theory of mind may not be directly observable, it should by no means be the only skill being assessed, and therefore would just be another piece to keep in mind when looking at the performance of the whole child.