ERIC Number: EJ983187
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2012-Nov
Pages: 10
Abstractor: As Provided
Reference Count: 38
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0162-3257
Pragmatic Abilities in Children with Congenital Visual Impairment: An Exploration of Non-Literal Language and Advanced Theory of Mind Understanding
Pijnacker, Judith; Vervloed, Mathijs P. J.; Steenbergen, Bert
Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, v42 n11 p2440-2449 Nov 2012
Children with congenital visual impairment have been reported to be delayed in theory of mind development. So far, research focused on first-order theory of mind, and included mainly blind children, whereas the majority of visually impaired children is not totally blind. The present study set out to explore whether children with a broader range of congenital visual impairments have a delay in more advanced theory of mind understanding, in particular second-order theory of mind (i.e. awareness that other people have beliefs about beliefs) and non-literal language (e.g. irony or figure of speech). Twenty-four children with congenital visual impairment and 24 typically developing sighted children aged between 6 and 13 were included. All children were presented with a series of stories involving understanding of theory of mind and non-literal language. When compared with sighted children of similar age and verbal intelligence, performance of children with congenital visual impairment on advanced theory of mind and non-literal stories was alike. The ability to understand the motivations behind non-literal language was associated with age, verbal intelligence and theory of mind skills, but was not associated with visual ability. (Contains 7 tables.)
Descriptors: Intelligence, Figurative Language, Theory of Mind, Blindness, Cognitive Development, Children, Congenital Impairments, Visual Impairments, Comparative Analysis
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers: N/A

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