Understanding of intentions in children with autism spectrum disorder and intellectual disability

Abstract

This study investigates the understanding of intentions in 100 children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and intellectual disability (ID; mean IQ 36) between 2 and 10 years of age. A within-subject design with two conditions was used. In the target condition, the experimenter successfully performed the task; while in the unfulfilled attempt condition, the experimenter attempted but did not successfully completed the task. Children with ASD and ID completed the tasks significantly more frequent and showed less off-task behavior in the target condition than in the unsuccessful attempt condition, which might indicate that children with ASD and ID experience difficulty in understanding the intentions of others. Successful completion of the task after an unsuccessful attempt is predicted by the ability to imitate and behavioral inflexibility and is associated with better performance on receptive and expressive language tests. The latter results are in line with several other studies suggesting a relation between the understanding of intentions and early social communication and language.