Theory of mind and irony comprehension in children with cerebral palsy

The main goal of the present study was to characterise the pragmatic abilities of French children with cerebral palsy through their understanding of irony and other people's mental states. We predicted that children with cerebral palsy would have difficulty understanding false-belief and ironic remarks, due to the executive dysfunction that accompanies the motor disorders of cerebral palsy. We conducted an experiment in which children with cerebral palsy and typically developing matched controls performed theory-of-mind and executive function tasks. They then listened to ironic stories and answered questions about the speakers’ beliefs and attitudes. The groups differed significantly on second-order theory of mind, irony comprehension and working memory, indicating pragmatic difficulties in children with cerebral palsy.

► We examined pragmatic abilities in French children with cerebral palsy.
► Two pragmatic abilities were of interest: theory of mind and irony comprehension.
► We expected to observe pragmatic impairment stemming from executive dysfunction.
► Children with cerebral palsy display impaired pragmatic skills and working memory.