Theory of Mind Skills in Young Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder: Investigating the Influence of Peer Coaches and Mind Reading Software

The current study investigated Theory of Mind in young adults with autism. The young adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) consisted of four students between the ages of 18 and 19 from an on-campus program for students with autism located at Marywood University in Northeastern Pennsylvania. It was hypothesized that Mind Reading, an interactive computer software program might improve Theory of Mind skills when used for training purposes with young adults with autism over an 8 week period. It was further hypothesized that the combination of the Mind Reading software training guided by instructional peer coaches (IPC) could improve Theory of Mind skills over time. Demographic information was reviewed for predictive success in this study. The results indicated that the use of the Mind Reading software seemed to have a positive influence on the Theory of Mind skills in this population of young adults. Although success was noted, it was minimal due to the sample size and the time restraints of the study.