Theory of Mind

I think that overall, I would have to agree with Naomi's points on this manner. While it is important to keep things such as theory of the mind in mind when assessing a child with autism, I think that it is also very important to keep the motivating functions of behaviors in mind as well when it comes to skill acquisition and abilities for children with ASD. In assessing a child with ASD we look to see what skills and abilities they have and can then choose the best course of action for different interventions. It is also possible though, that certain skills are only lacking for these children not because they don't have the ability to acquire them but they just may not have the proper motivation. Yes it is quite possible that a common thing among most ASD children is that they all lack the ability to naturally acquire Theory of mind which their typical peers gain naturally through development but isn't it also possible that they just lack the proper motivation. For typical children, the motivation for social interaction is present from birth and so theory of the mind is developed in more natural settings because in learning these sets of skills they are receiving attention which reinforces the skills even more. For a child with ASD, who does not necessarily seek social interaction or attention, continuing to develop the skills connected to theory of the mind may not occur because the natural reaction from others of attention is not reinforcing to them. When assessing children with autism we should assess what skills are present but never assume that those which are not present cannot be developed. We should determine what things are most reinforcing to the child and can then teach them all the skills that they may be lacking. We should never assume that they do not have the ability to acquire those skills but rather that we just have not found the proper motivation for the child yet. While it is very possible that these children do lack the skill of theory of the mind at the time of assessment it should not be the main focus when beginning an assessment of a child. The main focus should be on the child's strengths, weaknesses, and things which they find reinforcing so we can then develop interventions and treatments which will ultimately give them the best outcomes and possibilities in life.