Validity of false belief tasks in blind children.

Davison et al. (2010) compared blind and sighted children on false-belief tasks. They swapped the usual picture stories for tactile or auditory versions. The goal was to see if blindness alone delays theory-of-mind scores.

Blind kids passed the tasks about 19 months later than sighted peers. The delay vanished when the tasks matched their senses. In short, blindness—not autism—was slowing the score.

Richman et al. (2001) showed that regular false-belief tasks are valid for autistic children. Michael’s team extends that warning: the same tasks mislabel blind kids unless you change the format.

Tavassoli et al. (2012) later used eye-tracking for kids who can’t point or speak. Both papers push the same theme—match the task to the child’s body, not the textbook.

Mueller et al. (2000) found photos don’t help autistic kids pass. Michael adds that visual items can actually hurt blind kids. Together they show visuals help neither group; modality choice is what counts.

If a blind child fails a standard Sally-Anne story, pause before writing “suspected ASD” in the report. Swap in raised-line pictures, audio clips, or real objects. You will get a cleaner read on true theory-of-mind skills and avoid false autism referrals.