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https://revistacefac.org.br/article/doi/10.1590/1982-0216/20252738124
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Story understanding involving theory of mind in children with autism spectrum disorder

Compreensão de história envolvendo Teoria da Mente em crianças com Transtorno do Espectro do Autismo

Nathalia Quaresma; Renata Cristina Dias Nascimbeni; Jacy Perissinoto; Ana Carina Tamanaha

http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/1982-0216/20252738124 Revista CEFAC, vol.27, n3, e8124, 2025
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Abstract

Purpose: to evaluate the story understanding involving Theory of Mind in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD).

Methods: this a cross-sectional study conducted on a sample of 13 children with ASD, aged five to ten years old. The children's book “Claro, Cleusa. Claro, Clóvis” was used, whose characters are geometric figures that interact in a social context. The story was narrated by a speech pathologist and then the child was encouraged to produce his/her own retelling and answer questions related to the narrated events. The Wilcoxon and Spearman’s correlation tests were applied. A significant level of 0.05% was considered.

Results: on average, 8.2 (28.7%) sentences were retold. Physical terms were mentioned more frequently than mental ones (p=0.002). Regarding the questions, there was predominance of correct answers regarding the identification of characters, setting, and context; and difficulty in interpreting events involving mental states.

Conclusion: in this study, children had difficulty retelling important parts of the story and interpreting facts involving the Theory of Mind.

Keywords

Autism Spectrum Disorder; Theory of Mind; Understanding; Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences; Child

Resumo

Objetivo: avaliar a compreensão de história envolvendo Teoria da Mente em crianças com Transtorno do Espectro do Autismo (TEA).

Métodos: trata-se de estudo transversal. A amostra foi constituída por 13 crianças com TEA, entre cinco e dez anos. Utilizou-se o livro infantil - Claro, Cleusa. Claro, Clóvis, cujos personagens são figuras geométricas que interagem em contexto social. A narração da história foi realizada uma por fonoaudióloga e em seguida, a criança foi incentivada a produzir seu reconto e a responder questões relativas aos eventos narrados. Aplicou-se os testes de Wilcoxon e Correlação de Spearman. Considerou-se nível de significância de 0,05%.

Resultados: foram recontados, em média, 8,2 (28,7%) frases. Houve predomínio de menção de termos físicos em detrimento aos termos mentais (p=0,002). Em relação às questões observou-se predomínio de acertos quanto à identificação dos personagens, cenário e contexto; e dificuldade na interpretação dos eventos envolvendo estados mentais.

Conclusão: portanto verificou-se que as crianças tiveram dificuldade em recontar partes importantes da história e em interpretar fatos envolvendo a Teoria da Mente.

Palavras-chave

Transtorno do Espectro Autista; Teoria da Mente; Compreensão; Fonoaudiologia; Criança

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Submetido em:
02/12/2024

Aceito em:
28/03/2025

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