Theory of mind in naturalistic conversations between autistic and typically developing children and adolescents.
Diana Alkire, Kathryn A McNaughton, Heather A Yarger and 2 others
PMID 35722978WHAT IT FOUND
Autistic children showed more conversational norm violations than peers, but equal use of positive perspective-taking.
Violations linked to poor emotion recognition. However, neither positive nor negative conversational traits predicted whether partners enjoyed the interaction.
Key findings
01Autistic participants were rated significantly higher on negative conversational behaviors (violating norms) than typically developing peers, but showed no difference on positive behaviors (explicit perspective-taking).
02Lower ability to recognize complex emotions from faces and lower spontaneous mental state attribution were associated with more negative conversational behaviors, but not with positive ones.
03Conversational traits (both positive and negative) did not predict interaction success as rated by the conversation partner.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
The study excluded individuals with IQs below 80 or who were minimally verbal, limiting generalizability to the broader autistic population. The sample was predominantly male (only 26 females total) and 84% White among autistic participants, limiting applicability to females and other racial groups. Coding was based on audio and transcripts only, so non-verbal cues like eye gaze and facial expressions were not captured. The cToM coding system was developed without input from autistic individuals, potentially biasing it toward neurotypical norms. Interaction success was measured by a single partner rating after a 5-minute conversation with an unfamiliar peer, which may not reflect real-world social outcomes or long-term relationship formation.
Declared interests
The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not interpret the lack of difference on the Positive scale as evidence that autistic children do not struggle with Theory of Mind. The study found that positive perspective-taking and negative norm violations are uncorrelated, meaning a child can be skilled at one and impaired at the other. Also, do not assume that reducing norm violations will improve social acceptance; the study found no link between conversational traits and partner-rated interaction success.