Theory of Mind in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: Do Siblings Matter?

Abstract

Research indicates a positive relation between the sibling constellation and theory of mind (ToM) development in typically developing (TD) children. Less is known about this association in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The current study examined the association among the presence and number of siblings, birth order, and false belief (FB) understanding in children with ASD and a TD comparison group. Two FB tasks (change of contents and change of location) and the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test were administered to 57 children with ASD and 28 TD children during a home visit. One parent of each child reported on demographics and the sibling constellation. Separate hierarchical regressions controlled for age, receptive language ability, and scores on the Social Communication Questionnaire. In children with ASD, no association was observed between presence or number of siblings and ToM. However, the presence of older (but not younger) siblings was found to be positively associated with ToM. Children with ASD who had at least one older sibling performed similarly to the TD group, whereas children with ASD who had no older siblings performed significantly worse than the TD group. These findings indicate an advantage for FB performance in children with ASD who have an older sibling. They may bear on decisions to include older siblings or peers in intervention programs and may also contribute to a more complete understanding of the origins of individual differences in ToM ability in children with ASD.

The neuroethology of friendship

“…152 Autistic children that have an older sibling (i.e., that have consistent access to social partners) score higher in ToM tests than those without older siblings. 153 These findings are consistent with a recent study that demonstrated the impact of social environment on brain anatomy; monkeys experimentally introduced to larger social groups showed an increase in grey matter volume in two brain areas implicated in social cognition, the mid-superior temporal sulcus and the rostral prefrontal cortex. 154 Together, these studies demonstrate that socio-cognitive skills are present in early life but can be tuned by social interactions.…”

Infant Development in Fragile X Syndrome: Cross-Syndrome Comparisons

“…First, in the absence of a family history, the average age of diagnosis for both ASD and FXS is at 3 years of age despite symptoms present in the first year of life (Bailey, Raspa, Bishop, & Holiday, 2009; Matthews, Goldberg, & Lukowski, 2013). Thus, refined characterization of the infant phenotype in ASD and FXS has the potential to identify markers that could be useful for earlier and more specific diagnosis resulting in early treatment.…”

The Invisible Kryptonite Among Super Helpers the Healers of Humanity: Advocating for Super Helpers to Practice What They Preach to Clients?

“…The researchers suggest friendships offer one-on-one social experiences with familiar peers, over extended periods of time, which provide children with ASD more opportunities to develop and practice their social skills such as sharing and cooperation [52]. Although there is a substantial amount of research on the links between perspective-taking, prosocial behavior, and peer relationships in typically developing children, more research is needed examining these relationships in children with ASD to better understand how to foster friendship development in these populations [49,53].…”

“…Research by Farhadian and colleagues revealed that birth order predicted false-belief understanding in typically developing children [98]. Indeed, a significant amount of research suggests that most of the benefits come from older as opposed to younger siblings [53,99,100]. Language is a medium through which children come to learn about the unobservable mental states of other individuals [76].…”

“…By learning from older siblings, young children can learn from more experienced individuals [102]. In children diagnosed with ASD some research suggests that the presence of at least one older sibling is positively related to theory of mind development [53,103]. However, the benefits of older siblings on children with ASD may not be so clearly defined.…”