Theory of Mind Development in Children with Visual Impairment: The Contribution of the Adapted Comprehensive Test ToM Storybooks.
Blind children show typical Theory of Mind when tested with the right storybooks, so update your assessment toolkit.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Bartoli et al. (2019) gave blind children the same ToM Storybooks that sighted kids use. They compared scores to matched typically developing peers.
The team wanted to see if blindness slows Theory of Mind growth. They used the full storybook set, not just the classic false-belief task.
What they found
Blind kids scored just as high as sighted peers. When the test is adapted, their ToM develops on time.
The study shows blindness itself does not create a social-cognitive delay. Poor scores in past work came from using the wrong tools.
How this fits with other research
Reus et al. (2013) found the same boost when they gave toddlers with visual or motor issues the Bayley-III Low Motor/Vision version. Both papers prove that small test tweaks remove impairment-related bias.
Levin et al. (2014) saw large gross-motor gaps in totally blind children using the standard TGMD-II. Gloriana’s null result for ToM shows the gap depends on the skill and on the tool used.
Taras et al. (1993) already proved ABA can teach daily-living skills to visually impaired students when modeling is adapted. Gliana extends this idea to assessment: adapt the materials, keep the science.
Why it matters
Stop blaming blindness for social-cognitive delays. Use the full ToM Storybooks, give extra verbal context, and score as usual. You will get a fair picture of the child’s true Theory of Mind. This keeps kids from being mis-labeled or under-served.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
Research that focused on Theory of Mind (ToM) development in blind children showed that they were delayed, but not permanently deficient, in various types of false belief tasks. More recent studies reported first evidence of typical ToM development in blind children and suggested that more comprehensive tools to evaluate ToM had to be used. The current paper analyzed ToM development in blind children, using the adapted version of the ToM Storybooks; this is a standardized comprehensive test developed to provide a reliable and stable measurement, in comparison with the false belief tasks. Results showed that blind children's ToM performances were very similar to the ones of matched typically developing children, matched on chronological age and gender. The current finding supported the importance of the use of a more comprehensive tool to assess ToM in atypical population.
Journal of autism and developmental disorders, 2019 · doi:10.1007/s10803-019-04064-3