Theory of Mind can be summed up as a person’s inability to understand and identify the thoughts, feelings and intentions of others. Individuals with Autism, ADHD and Executive Functioning Disorder (EFD) can encounter difficulties in recognizing and processing the feelings of others. This challenge often leads others to believe that the individual does not show empathy or understand them, which can create great difficulty in social situations. As a result, children and adults can have social difficulties.
Authors Brenda Smith Myles and Jack Southwick illustrate social deficits caused by theory of mind:
1. Difficulty explaining ones behaviors
2. Difficulty understanding emotions
3. Difficulty predicting the behavior or emotional state of others
4. Problems understanding the perspectives of others
5. Problems inferring the intentions of others
6. Lack of understanding that behavior impacts how others think and/or feel
7. Problems with joint attention and other social conventions
8. Problems differentiating fiction from fact
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The second theory guiding research is called Executive Dysfunction Theory (McEvoy, Rogers and Pennington, 1993). This theory states that those with social cognitive deficits also have difficulties in solving personal problems, communicating effectively and creating organizational frameworks. They need structure but do not have the skills to create their own structure. This impacts several aspects of healthy human development including social relationships, completing tasks, managing homework, completing projects, solving problems, seeing the world through another's perspective - all skills needed for for everyday life.