The Effectiveness of Pishan Skills Development Game-Assisted Therapy in Promoting the Theory of Mind (ToM) in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Background and Objectives: Children with autism spectrum disorder fail to develop the theory of mind (ToM). Not only are they unable to understand the mentality of others, but they are also incapable of understanding that the minds of others may differ. This study was aimed to investigate the effect of Pishan skills development package on improving the levels of theory of mind in children with autism disorder. Method: The methodology was quasi-experimental as pre-test and post-test designs with follow-up. The sample consisted of 20 boys with autism spectrum disorder within the age range of 6 to 12 years living Tehran in 2019 who were selected by convenience sampling, and then, randomly assigned to test and control groups. Then, the children in the test group participated in 35 one-hour sessions, three days a week, and underwent an intervention program. Before and after the intervention, both groups answered the 38-item theory of mind test (Steirriman, 1999, Iranian standard form,2006). To examine the significance of the difference, repeated measures multivariate analysis of covariance was used. Findings: The results showed that Pishan skills development package has a significant effect on improving the levels of theory of mind (p <0.001) in people with autism spectrum disorder. These findings indicate an increase in the mean value of the theory of mind subscales in the test group after the intervention. This means that the levels of theory of mind have improved in the test group after the intervention. However, the control group showed no significant change in all post-test and follow-up subscales. Conclusion: Given the early states of the theory of mind capability in patients with autism spectrum disorder, some aspects of theory of mind can be remedied by providing the necessary trainings and rehabilitation strategies related to the development of mental and intellectual talents in early childhood and in the early stages of diagnosis.