Learn about autism with its potencieslity
Uno Italian study led by the team led by prof. Valenti, Director of the CRRA d'Abruzzo, showed how social interaction skills are not irremediably compromised.
The skills of social interaction in autism
In autism, the skills of social interaction are neither absent nor irremediably impaired. But they develop late with timing that varies from case to case.
This is what the study of Italian research group headed by Prof. Valenti, Director of the Regional Reference Center for Autism of the University and ASL of L'Aquila (CRRA) and by Monica Mazza, of the same university. This Italian research study strongly questions the currently prevailing idea of a complete absence of these abilities in people with autism.
The research, which involved 37 children with autism e 57 typically developing children, was published in the "Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders".
In social relationships we try to interact by trying to imagine what the person we are relating to thinks or feels in that specific context.
This unconscious ability underlying all human relationships is known as "Theory of mind". It allows us to understand the mental states and emotions of others and to adapt their behaviors to those of others.
La theory of mind is severely compromised in disorders of the autism spectrum. Experts subjected the sample to a battery of three theory of mind tests specifically for children aged 4 to 10 years.
The test results
In this way they showed that children with autism have a delay in the development of precise interpersonal skills. It is around 2 years for simpler skills such as the recognition of primary emotions, up to 7 years of delay for more complex skills such as understanding mental states.
These findings represent a fundamental step forward in research onautism. And they offer important ideas for planning specific rehabilitation interventions. They are based on theory of mind skills. And they indicate that the intervention can and should be adapted to accurate knowledge of the individual development situation.
