Brief report: developmental change in theory of mind abilities in children with autism.

Steele et al. (2003) tracked autistic children for one year. They tested if the kids' theory-of-mind skills grew over time.

The team gave false-belief tasks at the start and again one year later. They also measured language growth.

Every child improved on theory-of-mind tasks. The gains were large and tied to language growth.

Kids who added more words also added more perspective-taking skills.

Abrahamsen et al. (1990) showed that early joint-attention gestures, not starting language scores, predict later language. Shelly's study now links that later language to ToM growth, building a timeline: gestures → language → ToM.

Atherton et al. (2019) asked autistic teens about their own social mind. The teens said they see the world differently, not defectively. This fits Shelly's view that growth, not fixed deficit, is possible.

Sigman et al. (2005) clouds the picture. They followed autistic children for ten years and saw language gains slow or even reverse after early childhood. Shelly saw only one year, so the upbeat result may not last through adolescence.

Keep language-rich social play on the IEP. Every new word gives the child material for perspective-taking. Track both skills each quarter; when language stalls, add joint-attention or requesting programs to restart the cycle.