The Link between the Factuality of Verb and the Theory of Mind Ability of Mandarin-Speaking Children with High-Functioning Autism

Autor/inn/en	Yu, Wenbo; Cheng, Min; Liang, Dandan
Titel	The Link between the Factuality of Verb and the Theory of Mind Ability of Mandarin-Speaking Children with High-Functioning Autism
Quelle	In: International Journal of Language & Communication Disorders, 58 (2023) 6, S.1927-1938 (12 Seiten) PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Zusatzinformation	ORCID (Yu, Wenbo)
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	1368-2822
DOI	10.1111/1460-6984.12910
Schlagwörter	Theory of Mind; Mandarin Chinese; Autism Spectrum Disorders; Young Children; Verbs; Syntax; Intelligence Quotient; Language Skills + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Autism; Autismus; Frühe Kindheit; Intelligenzquotient; Language skill; Sprachkompetenz
Abstract	Background: Weak theory of mind (ToM) ability is a core deficit in children with autism. A growing body of work has found that there is a close relation between complement syntax and ToM in autistic children. However, researchers have not yet investigated whether other linguistic components may explain the difficulties in ToM reasoning in autistic children. Aims: To determine whether verb factuality (i.e., mental and action verbs) is related to ToM ability, as measured by a false belief understanding (FBU) task after controlling the effect of complement syntax for Mandarin-speaking autistic children. Methods & Procedures: Participants were verbal autistic children, aged 4-7 years. Their IQ performance (verbal, performance and total IQ) and the comprehension of complement syntax were evaluated. A total of 38 children scoring over 9 points in complement syntax test and 90 points in the verbal IQ test were selected to complete verb factuality and FBU task. The X[superscript 2] tests and correlation analyses were carried out on two relations: (1) ToM ability and understanding of verb factuality; and (2) ToM ability and comprehension of complement syntax. Outcomes & Results: A total of 11 autistic children completed the action verb factuality task, while 14 completed the mental verb factuality task and 13 completed both tasks. Participants performed well on the verb factuality task, and their ToM performance appeared to be related to their linguistic ability, regardless of the type of verb (i.e., action or mental verb). However, complement syntax scores did not significantly predict the success of the FBU task for the autistic children. Conclusions & Implications: The results of this study link weaker ToM ability with the understanding of verb factuality among autistic children aged 4-7 and provide new evidence for the view that the development of language facilitates improvement of ToM skills. The findings shed new light on how language affects or determines social interactions. (As Provided).
Anmerkungen	Wiley. Available from: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030. Tel: 800-835-6770; e-mail: cs-journals@wiley.com; Web site: https://www.wiley.com/en-us
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2024/1/01