The concept of intention in autism : the ability of children with autism to distinguish prior intention from action and intention in action from bodily movement
Part of : Hellenic journal of psychology ; Vol.2, No.1, 2005, pages 50-79
Issue:
Pages:
50-79
Author:
Abstract:
This study investigated autistic children's ability to understand others' intentions.Twenty children with a diagnosis of autism were compared with 17 children with moderatelearning difficulties, and 15 typically developing 6/7-year-olds on two tasks measuring theirability to distinguish: (a) prior intention from action and (b) intention in action from merebodily movement. Autistic children scored more poorly than controls on the first task,demonstrating a specific deficit with the concept of prior intention. Surprisingly, however,they were as good as control participants in distinguishing movements that contained intentionsin action from other, non-intentional, movements. An explanation for this uneven performanceis offered, along with suggestions as to how these findings may shed light on theongoing controversy over autistic children's understanding of intention.
Subject (LC):
Keywords:
autism, intention in action, prior intention, theory of mind
Notes:
Περιέχει εικόνες, πίνακες και βιβλιογραφία, Young childrens theory of mind
