Assessment of theory of mind in children with communication disorders: Role of presentation mode

Children with communication disorders have problems with both language and social interaction. The theory-of-mind hypothesis provides an explanation for these problems, and different tests have been developed to test this hypothesis. However, different modes of presentation are used in these tasks, which make the results difficult to compare. In the present study, the performances of typically developing children, children with specific language impairments, and children with autism spectrum disorders were therefore compared using three theory-of-mind tests (the Charlie test, the Smarties test, and the Sally-and-Anne test) presented in three different manners each (spoken, video, and line drawing modes). The results showed differential outcomes for the three types of tests and a significant interaction between group of children and mode of presentation. For the typically developing children, no differential effects of presentation mode were detected. For the children with SLI, the highest test scores were consistently evidenced in the line-drawing mode. For the children with ASD, test performance depended on the mode of presentation. Just how the children's non-verbal age, verbal age, and short-term memory related to their test scores was also explored for each group of children. The test scores of the SLI group correlated significantly with their short-term memory, those of the ASD group with their verbal age. These findings demonstrate that performance on theory-of-mind tests clearly depend upon mode of test presentation as well as the children's cognitive and linguistic abilities.

Research highlights
► We want to examine the role of presentation mode in the assessment of theory of mind in children with communication disorders.
► We compare the performances of typically developing children, children with specific language impairment and children with autism spectrum disorders using three theory-of-mind tests (the Charlie test, the Smarties test, and the Sally-and-Anne test) presented in three different manners each (spoken, video, and line drawing modes).
► For the typically developing children there are no differential effects of presentation mode whereas for the other groups there are.
► To examine individual differences, children's verbal and non-verbal age and their short-term memory are also assessed.
► The test scores of the SLI group correlate significantly with their short-term memory, those of the ASD group with their verbal age. These findings demonstrate that performance on theory-of-mind tests in clinical groups clearly depend upon mode of test presentation as well as the children's cognitive and linguistic abilities.