ABSTRACT
This chapter looks at what people know, including some of the facts and theories. It is a neurodevelopmental biogenetic condition, which means it is something a person is born with. People with autism have brains that are wired differently which affects the way information is processed in the brain. The theory of mind (ToM), sometimes referred to as 'mindreading' or 'mentalising', refers to person's ability to recognise and understand the thoughts, beliefs, intentions, feelings and desires of others in order to make sense of their behaviour and predict what they are going to do next. Research suggests that neurotypical children gradually develop this ToM, but for children on the autism spectrum there appears to be a time delay and poor subsequent development. The British autism study of infant siblings researched babies, early infants and toddlers, and their hypothesis was that children with autism had an initial lack of attention or interest or sensitivity to social rewards or socially relevant information.
