CAN WE TEACH CHILDREN WITH AUTISM TO UNDERSTAND EMOTIONS, BELIEF, OR PRETENCE

Previous studies have revealed a ''theory of mind'' impairment in chil dren with autism. The aim of this study was to assess whether it is po ssible to intervene by teaching children with autism to understand the mental states of emotion, belief, or pretence. Results showed that it is possible to teach children with autism to pass tasks that assess e motion and belief understanding. Introducing unfamiliar materials in s tructurally similar tasks did not adversely influence teaching effects , either immediately after teaching, or 2 months later. However, teach ing effects did not generalize to tasks in domains where children rece ived no teaching. In addition, no significant progress in spontaneous pretend play resulted from teaching. These results indicate that child ren may be passing tasks using rules rather than any genuine understan ding of the concepts involved.