Social attribution in children with high functioning autism and Asperger syndrome: An exploratory study in the Chinese setting

The present study aimed to examine social attribution in children with high-functioning autism (HFA) and Asperger's syndrome (AS). A sample of 20 boys (9 with HFA and 11 with AS) and 20 age-matched controls were recruited for this study. All participated in two tasks measuring social attribution ability, the conventional Social Attribution Task (SAT) and a modified version with animals rather than shapes (mSAT). They also completed a battery of neuropsychological tests. Compared to typically developing controls, children with autism spectrum disorders were impaired on some measures in both SATs. However, group differences in ‘theory-of-mind’ indices were only significant in the mSAT, with the ASD group performing more poorly than controls. In addition, the scores in person index of both versions of the SAT correlated with executive function in children with HFA/AS. The current study found the mSAT paradigm was especially sensitive to ToM difficulties in young Chinese children with HFA/AS. Social attribution in children with HFA/AS, unlike neurotypical children, was related to executive function ability, suggesting these psychological domains are not distinct in children with autism spectrum disorders.

► We examined social attribution in children with high-functioning autism (HFA) and Asperger's Syndrome (AS) in the Chinese context.
► The mSAT paradigm was especially sensitive to ToM difficulties in young Chinese children with HFA/AS.
► Social attribution in children with HFA/AS, unlike neurotypical children, was related to executive function ability.
► A modified Chinese version is also a suitable tool for the research for the local setting.