ABSTRACT
The individual might show indifference to others’ interests, feelings, beliefs, hopes, and so on; if the individual was ignorant of these psychological states, then he or she would show little curiosity in them. An individual who lacked understanding of mind would also be very poor at communication. An individual who lacked an understanding of mind would probably display impoverished imaginative abilities. A manifestation of imagination in young children is their pretend play. Children with autism tend to have learning difficulties, often resulting in a verbal mental age well below their chronological age. Clinically normal children begin to engage in pretence at about 18 months of age. Many children with autism at the very least have a more severe problem, and may even be unlike a normal child at any point in development. Baron-Cohen identified a subgroup of teenagers with autism who passed a standard test of false belief.
