The role of developmental indicators and theory of mind in predicting the general functioning of children with autism spectrum disorder

The aim of the present study was to investigate the role of developmental indicators and theory of mind in predicting the general functioning of children with autism spectrum disorder. The method of this research was descriptive and correlational. All 4-14-year-old autistic children living in Tabriz city in the winter of 2021 formed the population of this study, of whom 110 people were selected by convenience sampling and formed the sample. To collect the, the questionnaires of Stirenman's theory of mind, Gilliam's autism diagnosis (2nd edition), Ulrich's motor development and Greenspan's functional emotional development scale were used to evaluate children's general functioning. The data was analyzed using Pearson correlation tests and multiple regression analysis. The results showed that the total score of the emotional development index, the total score of the motor development index of object control, and the motor development index of displacement have a significant positive relationship with the overall functioning of children. Developmental indices and its subscales and theory of mind and its subscales explained 0.67 of the variance of children's overall functioning. Based on the findings of the research, developmental indicators and theory of mind can predict the overall functioning of children with autism spectrum disorder; therefore, by training and strengthening the theory of mind and carrying out interventions related to developmental indicators, the overall functioning of these children can be improved.