title: Effects and Moderators of a Short Theory of Mind Intervention for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Randomized Controlled Trial.
abstract: Limited perspective taking or "Theory of Mind" (ToM) abilities are a core deficit of autism, and many interventions are aimed to improve ToM abilities. In this study, we investigated the effectiveness of a ToM treatment for children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and, for the first time, the moderating roles of social interaction style (SIS) and disruptive behavior (DB), to determine which children are most likely to respond to this intervention. The trial protocol is registered at www.trialregister.nl, trial number 2327 and published before the data collection was finished (www.trialsjournal.com). Children with autism aged 7-12 years (n = 97) were randomized over a waitlist control or a treatment condition. Outcome measures included ToM and emotion understanding, parent and teacher questionnaires on children's social skills, ToM-related social behavior, and autistic traits. Six-month follow-up parent reported data were collected for the treatment group. The treatment had a positive effect on ToM understanding, parent-reported ToM behavior, and autistic traits, but not on parent or teacher-reported social behavior. Passive SIS was associated with diminished treatment effects on autistic traits, but DB was unrelated to outcomes. The ToM intervention improved conceptual social understanding and ToM-related behavior of children with ASD. However, broader application of learned skills to other domains of functioning was limited. Individual differences with regard to treatment response are discussed.
authors.affiliation: VU University, Department of Developmental Psychology, Van der Boechorststraat 1, 1081BT Amsterdam, The Netherlands and EMGO Institute for Health and Care Research, Van der Boechorststraat 7, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.|School of Psychology, Brennan MacCallum Building (A18) The University of Sydney NSW 2006.
authors.forename: Sander
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Begeer
authors.affiliation: Institute of Psychiatry, King's College, 16 De Crespigny Park London SE5 8AF.|Faculty of Health Sciences, C42 - Cumberland Campus, The University of Sydney Lidcombe NSW 2141, Australia.
authors.forename: Patricia
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Howlin
authors.affiliation: VU University, Department of Developmental Psychology, Van der Boechorststraat 1, 1081BT Amsterdam, The Netherlands and EMGO Institute for Health and Care Research, Van der Boechorststraat 7, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.|De Bascule, Rijksstraatweg 145 1115, AP Duivendrecht.
authors.forename: Elske
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Hoddenbach
authors.affiliation: De Bascule, Rijksstraatweg 145 1115, AP Duivendrecht.
authors.forename: Cassandra
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Clauser
authors.affiliation: De Bascule, Rijksstraatweg 145 1115, AP Duivendrecht.
authors.forename: Ramon
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Lindauer
authors.affiliation: Wei43, Weissenbruchstraat 43, 1058 KN Amsterdam.
authors.forename: Pamela
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Clifford
authors.affiliation: Wei43, Weissenbruchstraat 43, 1058 KN Amsterdam.
authors.forename: Carolien
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Gevers
authors.affiliation: De Bascule, Rijksstraatweg 145 1115, AP Duivendrecht.
authors.forename: Frits
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Boer
authors.affiliation: VU University, Department of Developmental Psychology, Van der Boechorststraat 1, 1081BT Amsterdam, The Netherlands and EMGO Institute for Health and Care Research, Van der Boechorststraat 7, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Hans M
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Koot
mesh_terms: D000067877:Autism Spectrum Disorder / Q000628:therapy*; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D056345:Theory of Mind; D016896:Treatment Outcome
keywords: autism; moderator; randomized controlled trial; theory of mind; treatment