Theory of mind and executive function in preschoolers with typical development versus intellectually able preschoolers with autism spectrum disorder.

Granader et al. (2014) compared the preschoolers with autism and average IQ to 40 typical peers. They gave each child six theory-of-mind tasks and five executive-function games.

The team also tested verbal IQ so they could see if language skill, not EF, explained any gaps.

Typical kids passed more false-belief and deception tasks than the autistic group. Planning and cognitive-shifting scores, plus verbal IQ, predicted how well a child did on theory-of-mind tests.

In plain words: if a child could plan a route or switch rules in a card game, they were also better at guessing what another person thinks.

Fisher et al. (2005) tried to train these skills. They gave autistic children short daily ToM lessons. ToM scores rose, but EF scores stayed flat. The new study flips the lens: instead of training, it shows that strong EF still links to better ToM.

Terroux et al. (2025) asked parents about everyday EF. Parents saw the same inhibition and working-memory problems that Yael caught in lab tasks. The two papers match: lab scores and real-life reports point to the same weak spots.

Goldfarb et al. (2024) followed older kids and found that EF plus ToM together explain most social-skill variance. The 2014 preschool data now look like the first step in a longer pathway: early EF → early ToM → later social success.

If you work with bright preschoolers on the spectrum, don’t wait for false-belief tasks to improve on their own. Embed planning and set-shifting practice into play. Simple board games, rule-switch card games, or treasure hunts that require a plan may spill over into better perspective-taking later.