What Are Some Ways To Teach

Theory of Mind Skills?

Teaching Children to Mind Read (Howlin, Baron-Cohen, & Hadwin, 1999)
This resource was designed as a practical guide to teaching basic emotions to
those with ASD using five levels of emotional understanding. The volume
provides numerous materials (schematic drawings, faces, stories, etc.) that can
be used with students as well as further suggestions for professionals and
parents.

Carol Grays Social Stories (Gray, 2004)

This intervention is described in detail in another Web Course module. (Click
there to jump to Social Stories topic) This teaching strategy draws on a strong
visual basis to helping those with ASD improve their understanding of social
situations the perspectives of others and possible new ways to interpret behavior
and acting. Processing of information and social situations is also emphasized
with this method.

Mind Reading (Human Emotions, LTD., 2002)

This is a more recent intervention that was developed at the University of
Cambridge specifically to teach mind reading ability. Consumers can use a CD or
DVD that teaches 412 emotions based in 24 emotion groups. The program
consists three main sections, the emotions library, the learning center, and the
games zone. By using video clips, faces, voices, stories and other multimedia
technology, emotions are presented and taught in a more complex way than
traditionally possible.

Theory of mind coach (Diane Twachtman-Cullen, 2004)

Think of this intervention as an ongoing 24-7 approach. Family members, friends,
and teachers can all help to coach a person who has challenges with theory of
mind skills by pointing out the important pieces of information and then
connecting them into a coherent whole. Coaches can live out loud and describe
the behavior of others to those who do not do so easily as well as model to those
with ASD how to read, describe and infer others behaviors and why it is
significant and how it connects to others.

Role-playing and acting (Myles & Southwick, 1999)

Role-playing is a traditional method of teaching social skills. By putting
themselves in others roles and acting, persons with ASD may learn to
understand concepts such as emotions, nonverval body language, and
perspective taking.

Video detective, videos, and television (Myles & Southwick, 1999)

This technology can be used in a number of ways. For example, a TV show such
as 3rd Rock from the Sun, Mr. Bean or Saved by the Bell can be used to teach a
variety of social misunderstandings and goof-ups. Fun lessons can be created
utilizing this medium.

Bibliotherapy
Various works of literature can be used to teach perspective taking, abstract
concepts, etc. For example, the humorous Amelia Bedelia series can be used
with children in elementary school as a fun way to teach them about how
language can be interpreted in different ways.

Direct instruction
Learning concepts such as basic emotions can be taught using traditional direct
instruction methods. This includes the use of pictures of the various emotions
and the use of modeling, prompting, and reinforcement procedures. (Click here
to jump to Direct Instruction topic)

The Incredible 5-Point Scale (Buron & Curtis, 2004)

This practical guide uses a visual strategy to teach emotional regulation. It can
be easily modified for individual differences and is easy to use. The guide
provides many examples of how to use the scale as well as reproducible
materials.

Thinking About You Thinking About Me and Inside Out: What Makes the
Person with Social Cognitive Deficits Tick? (Winner, 1999, 2003)
These excellent resources teach perspective-taking skills in a variety of ways
with a focus on understanding social cognition and the underlying reasons for
communication. Includes sections such as humor, perspective taking, and gestalt
processing.

Navigating the Social World (McAfee, 2003)

Although this curriculum is intended to teach how to understand social skills and
use these skills in the real world, a section of this text is helpful for understanding
ones own emotions and learning how to regulate emotional behavior.

Asperger Syndrome: A Practical Guide for Teachers (Cumine, Leach, &

Stevenson, 1998).
This is a complete guide for teaching many skills to those with Asperger
Syndrome. A section on theory of mind several dozen important teaching points
to remember included for teaching perspective taking and other theory of mind
skills.
Some of the above interventions specifically target the theory of mind deficit,
while others are techniques or methods used for other skills but have been used
with theory of mind. Many of the techniques seek to help those with ASD
understand the emotions of others and themselves. Other programs look at the
bigger social skills framework including incorporate theory of mind ability into that
picture.