Social Perception in Toddlers and Preschoolers with Autism

Richard Griffin
Tufts University
Center for Cognitive Studies

Autism is characterized by difficulties understanding the thoughts
and feelings of other people, a set of skills that is well-developed
in typically developing 4-year-olds.  Most of what is known about
autism come from studies with children school-aged or older, leaving
gaps in our knowledge about how very young children with autism
makes sense of people, and where they go wrong.  In this research,
we investigated how 2- and 3-year-olds with autism interpret the
basics of folk psychology -- motion and action, emotions and
reactions -- using experimental techniques suitable for preverbal
children. Questions remain about the functional level at which to
discuss their relative strengths and weaknesses in this domain.