Theory of Mind Software for Autism and other Communication Disorders

描述（由申请人提供）：充分参与人类社会环境需要能够理解其他人有自己的目标，意图和信仰（可能正确也可能不正确）-这些认知状态支配着人们的行为。这种意识形式被称为心理理论（Theory of Mind，ToM）。不幸的是，许多自闭症谱系障碍（ASD）儿童、来自听力正常家庭（DH）的口聋儿童（他们没有接触到足够的语言输入）以及其他患有特定语言障碍（SLI）的儿童的心理理论发展严重延迟或完全失败。在这些人群中普遍存在的心理理论缺陷有助于越来越多的证据表明，语言在心理理论的发展中起着至关重要的作用，事实上，有相当多的支持的立场，它起着因果关系的作用。在拟议的研究中，我们寻求为ASD，SLI和DH儿童开发一个课程和干预软件，可以用来帮助补救语言缺陷，这些语言缺陷与ToM发展的经典测试中表现不佳有关。朝着这一目标的进展将至少为处于危险中的儿童提供理解与认知状态相关的语言的基础，并且据预测，也将有助于许多儿童的心理理论能力的实际发展，否则这些能力可能无法达到。在第一阶段，研究人员和顾问将详细说明整个项目的课程，指定原型软件的课程，并开发原型程序。然后，将在上述每个人群的儿童中对原型进行实地测试。能够理解其他人有自己的目标、意图和信念（可能正确也可能不正确），这些认知状态支配着人们的行为，这被称为心理理论（ToM）。不幸的是，在许多自闭症谱系障碍（ASD）儿童中，以及在没有足够语言输入的口聋儿童和其他特定语言障碍儿童中，ToM的发展严重延迟或完全失败。在拟议的研究中，我们将开发干预软件，这将有助于补救语言缺陷，可靠地与心理理论发展的经典测试表现不佳。朝着这一目标的进展将为儿童提供理解与认知状态相关的语言的基础，据预测，也将有助于ToM能力的发展。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): 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), as well as in oral deaf children from hearing families (DH) who are not exposed to adequate language input, and others with Specific Lan- guage Impairment (SLI). The prevalence of ToM deficits in these populations contributes to mounting evidence that language plays a critical role in ToM development, and in fact there is considerable support for the position that it plays a causal role. In the proposed research we seek to develop 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 at risk children with a basis for understanding the language associated with epistemic states, and it is predicted, will also aid in the actual development of ToM abilities in many children for whom these abilities may otherwise be out of reach. In Phase I the investigators and consultants will detail the curriculum for the full project, specify the curriculum for the prototype software, and develop the prototype program. The prototype will then be field tested with children in each of the populations named above. 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 or fails altogether 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 deficits that are reliably associated with poor performance on classic tests of ToM development. Progress toward this goal will provide children with a basis for understanding the language associated with epistemic states, and it is predicted, will also aid in the development of ToM abilities.