Theory of Mind Software for Autism and other Communication Disorders

针对自闭症和其他沟通障碍的心理理论软件

• 批准号: 7538879
• 负责人: MARY SWEIG WILSON
• 金额: $ 79.82万
• 依托单位: LAUREATE LEARNING SYSTEMS, INC.
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 财政年份: 2008
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2008-07-15 至 2010-06-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/7538879
• 关键词: Accounting; Age; American; Attention; Autistic Disorder; Awareness; Behavior; Belief; Categories; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (U.S.); Child; Childhood; Communication impairment; Computer software; Coupled; Data; Detection; Development; Diagnostic; Diagnostic and Statistical Manual; Education; Educational Curriculum; Enrollment; Evaluation; Eye; Facility Construction Funding Category; Family; Feeling; Fostering; Goals; Hearing; Hearing Impaired Persons; Hour; Human; Impairment; Individual; Intervention; Knowledge; Language; Language Delays; Language Development; Language Disorders; Language Tests; Learning; Linguistics; Marketing; Measures; Mind; Minor; Numbers; Oral; Parents; Partner Communications; Perception; Performance; Phase; Play; Population; Prevalence; Psyche structure; Public Health; Publishing; Range; Reporting; Research; Research Personnel; Role; Schools; Semantics; Services; Social Environment; Software Design; Sorting - Cell Movement; Specific qualifier value; System; Testing; Thinking; To specify; Training; Treatment outcome; Week; Work; abstracting; autism spectrum disorder; base; cost effectiveness; design; desire; improved; innovation; prototype; response; skills; social; social communication; specific language impairment; syntax; theories; tool

DESCRIPTION (provided by investigator): Full participation in the human social milieu requires that one be able to understand that other people have their own goals, intentions, and beliefs (which may or may not be correct) - and that these epistemic states govern people's behavior. This form of awareness has been called Theory of Mind (ToM). Unfortunately, the development of ToM is severely delayed or fails altogether in many children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Delays in the development of ToM are also seen in oral deaf children from hearing families (DH) who are not exposed to adequate language input, and others with Specific Language Impairment (SLI). The prevalence of ToM deficits in these populations contributes to mounting evidence that language plays a critical role in ToM development, perhaps by providing an essential framework for comprehending language about epistemic states. In the proposed research we seek to develop and field-test a curriculum and intervention software for children with ASD, SLI, and DH children that can be used to help remediate language deficits that are reliably associated with poor performance on classic tests of ToM development. Progress toward this goal will at the least provide children with a basis for understanding the language about the mind, and it is predicted, will also aid in the actual development of ToM abilities in many children for whom these abilities may otherwise be severely delayed or out of reach. In Phase I the investigators and consultants outlined a curriculum for the full project, and specified, developed, and field-tested prototype software with children in each of the populations listed above. The children were able to use the software and evidence of learning was obtained. In Phase II the same group will collaborate on development and field-testing of the full curriculum. Efficacy data, comprising pre- and post measures of general language, syntax, ToM abilities, and narrative skills, will be collected with children in the three diagnostic categories indicated. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE Being able to understand that other people have their own goals, intentions, and beliefs (which may or may not be correct) - and that these epistemic states govern people's behavior - has been called Theory of Mind (ToM). Unfortunately, the development of ToM is severely delayed in many children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), as well as in oral deaf children who are not exposed to adequate language input and others with Specific Language Impairment. In the proposed research we will develop intervention software that will help to remediate language acquisition deficits that are reliably associated with poor performance on classic tests of ToM development. Progress toward this goal will provide an effective and efficient means of providing children with a basis for understanding language associated with epistemic states, and it is predicted, will also aid in the development of ToM abilities per se.

描述（由研究者提供）：充分参与人类社会环境需要一个人能够理解其他人有自己的目标、意图和信仰（这可能是正确的，也可能是不正确的），并且这些认知状态支配着人们的行为。这种形式的意识被称为心智理论（ToM）。不幸的是，在许多患有自闭症谱系障碍（ASD）的儿童中，ToM的发展严重延迟或完全失败。来自听力健全家庭（DH）的没有接受足够语言输入的口聋儿童，以及其他患有特殊语言障碍（SLI）的儿童，也会出现ToM发育迟缓的情况。这些人群中普遍存在的认知障碍提供了越来越多的证据，表明语言在认知障碍的发展中起着至关重要的作用，可能是通过提供一个基本的框架来理解关于认知状态的语言。在拟议的研究中，我们寻求开发和实地测试一个针对ASD， SLI和DH儿童的课程和干预软件，可以用来帮助纠正语言缺陷，这些缺陷与在ToM发展的经典测试中表现不佳有关。这一目标的进展至少将为孩子们提供一个理解关于心灵的语言的基础，而且据预测，这也将有助于许多儿童ToM能力的实际发展，否则这些能力可能会严重延迟或无法达到。在第一阶段，调查人员和顾问为整个项目概述了一个课程，并对上面列出的每个人群中的儿童指定、开发和实地测试了原型软件。孩子们能够使用软件并获得学习的证据。在第二阶段，同一小组将合作开发和实地测试整个课程。疗效数据，包括一般语言、语法、ToM能力和叙事技能的前后测量，将在指定的三种诊断类别中收集儿童。能够理解别人有自己的目标、意图和信仰（可能是正确的，也可能是不正确的）——并且这些认知状态支配着人们的行为——被称为心理理论（ToM）。不幸的是，在许多患有自闭症谱系障碍（ASD）的儿童中，以及在没有接触到足够语言输入的口头聋儿和其他患有特殊语言障碍的儿童中，ToM的发展严重延迟。在拟议的研究中，我们将开发干预软件，以帮助纠正语言习得缺陷，这些缺陷与经典的ToM发展测试中的不良表现可靠地联系在一起。实现这一目标的进展将提供一种有效和高效的手段，为儿童提供理解与认知状态相关的语言的基础，据预测，这也将有助于ToM能力本身的发展。