TY - JOUR
T1 - Effects and Moderators of a Short Theory of Mind Intervention for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Randomized Controlled Trial
AU - Begeer, Sander
AU - Howlin, Patricia
AU - Hoddenbach, Elske
AU - Clauser, Cassandra
AU - Lindauer, Ramon
AU - Clifford, Pamela
AU - Gevers, Carolien
AU - Boer, Frits
AU - Koot, Hans M.
PY - 2015
Y1 - 2015
N2 - Limited perspective taking or "Theory of Mind" (ToM) abilities are a core deficit of autism, and many interventions are aimed to improve ToM abilities. In this study, we investigated the effectiveness of a ToM treatment for children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and, for the first time, the moderating roles of social interaction style (SIS) and disruptive behavior (DB), to determine which children are most likely to respond to this intervention. The trial protocol is registered at www. trialregister. nl, trial number 2327 and published before the data collection was finished (www. trials-journal.com). Children with autism aged 7-12 years (n = 97) were randomized over a waitlist control or a treatment condition. Outcome measures included ToM and emotion understanding, parent and teacher questionnaires on children's social skills, ToM-related social behavior, and autistic traits. Six-month follow-up parent reported data were collected for the treatment group. The treatment had a positive effect on ToM understanding, parent-reported ToM behavior, and autistic traits, but not on parent or teacher-reported social behavior. Passive SIS was associated with diminished treatment effects on autistic traits, but DB was unrelated to outcomes. The ToM intervention improved conceptual social understanding and ToM-related behavior of children with ASD. However, broader application of learned skills to other domains of functioning was limited. Individual differences with regard to treatment response are discussed. (C) 2015 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc
AB - Limited perspective taking or "Theory of Mind" (ToM) abilities are a core deficit of autism, and many interventions are aimed to improve ToM abilities. In this study, we investigated the effectiveness of a ToM treatment for children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and, for the first time, the moderating roles of social interaction style (SIS) and disruptive behavior (DB), to determine which children are most likely to respond to this intervention. The trial protocol is registered at www. trialregister. nl, trial number 2327 and published before the data collection was finished (www. trials-journal.com). Children with autism aged 7-12 years (n = 97) were randomized over a waitlist control or a treatment condition. Outcome measures included ToM and emotion understanding, parent and teacher questionnaires on children's social skills, ToM-related social behavior, and autistic traits. Six-month follow-up parent reported data were collected for the treatment group. The treatment had a positive effect on ToM understanding, parent-reported ToM behavior, and autistic traits, but not on parent or teacher-reported social behavior. Passive SIS was associated with diminished treatment effects on autistic traits, but DB was unrelated to outcomes. The ToM intervention improved conceptual social understanding and ToM-related behavior of children with ASD. However, broader application of learned skills to other domains of functioning was limited. Individual differences with regard to treatment response are discussed. (C) 2015 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc
U2 - https://doi.org/10.1002/aur.1489
DO - https://doi.org/10.1002/aur.1489
M3 - Article
C2 - 25847054
SN - 1939-3792
VL - 8
SP - 738
EP - 748
JO - Autism research
JF - Autism research
IS - 6
ER -