Empirical study on clinical intervention of theory of mind interpretation in children with autism spectrum disorder

ZHANG Lin; SHAO Zhi; XIA Lei; ZHANG Yaru; ZHANG Ting

doi:10.11852/zgetbjzz2023-1173

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Chinese Journal of Child Health Care ›› 2025, Vol. 33 ›› Issue (1) : 34-38. DOI: 10.11852/zgetbjzz2023-1173

Original Articles

Empirical study on clinical intervention of theory of mind interpretation in children with autism spectrum disorder

ZHANG Lin^1,2, SHAO Zhi^1,2, XIA Lei^1,2, ZHANG Yaru^1,2, ZHANG Ting²

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Abstract

Objective To explore the effectiveness of a multi-component, multi-strategy comprehensive theory of mind (ToM) intervention, in order to provide new clinical ideas and empirical evidence for ToM ability intervention in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Methods From July 2022 to June 2023, 80 children with ASD who underwent rehabilitation training in Children's Autism Rehabilitation Treatment Center of Chongqing Ninth People's Hospital were selected into this study. All children met the diagnostic criteria for ASD in the diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders, 5th edition (DSM-5). The participants were divided into experimental group (n=40) and control group (n=40) by a random number method. Children in the control group were given traditional rehabilitation for 6 months, while children in the experimental group received ToM intervention additionally. ToM task scale was used to evaluate the ToM ability of children in the two groups before and after the intervention. Results Intra-group comparison showed that before and after the intervention, the experimental group had a significant improvement in the score of the task of distinguishing belief (t=6.56) and false belief (unexpected content task: t=6.56; unexpected location task: t=6.95) (P<0.05). The control group also showed some improvement, but these changes were not statistically significant (P>0.05). Inter-group comparison showed that before intervention, there was no significant difference in scores of ToM tasks between the experimental group and the control group (P>0.05). However, post-intervention, the experimental group scored higher than the control group in belief discrimination (t=5.37) and false belief tasks (unexpected content task: t=4.98, unexpected location task: t=4.87) with statistical significance (P<0.05). Conclusion An integrated intervention model employing multiple strategies grounded in the multifaceted nature of ToM effectively enhances ToM abilities in children with ASD, highlighting the efficacy of a comprehensive approach in addressing this complex cognitive domain.

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theory of mind / autism spectrum disorder / false belief / ToM Task Scale

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ZHANG Lin, SHAO Zhi, XIA Lei, ZHANG Yaru, ZHANG Ting. Empirical study on clinical intervention of theory of mind interpretation in children with autism spectrum disorder[J]. Chinese Journal of Child Health Care. 2025, 33(1): 34-38 https://doi.org/10.11852/zgetbjzz2023-1173

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