Table of contentsIntroductionReadingSeminar DiscussionAnalysisResultsConclusionsIntroduction“Having a theory of mind means being able to reflect on the content of one's own mind and that of others. (Simon Baron-Cohen, 2001). As Uta Firth explained, you cannot refer to theory of mind without also referring to autism. Autism can be understood as a lack of theory of mind (Frith & Happe, 1994). This topic interested me because it allowed me to reflect on previous professional experiences I had working with a toddler who I suspected of being autistic. I will refer to this child throughout this essay and will use the pseudonym Mika from now on. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay I will provide a brief summary of the recommended readings, class discussion, and their relationships to each other. I will discuss how this newly acquired information has allowed me to reflect on my previous professional experiences. I will then reflect on how this knowledge might inform my envisaged future practice as a child psychotherapist. I will use the lessons learned from this experience in tandem with this new knowledge to identify significant potential challenges that may arise when establishing a trusting relationship and choosing the therapeutic approach I will take. These thoughts can further help me understand and empathize with future patients.ReadingIn the prescribed reading, Charman, Baron-Cohen, Swettenham, Baird, Cox, and Drew examined the relationship between joint attention, play and imitation skills, as well as theory development. of spirit. There is currently little direct empirical evidence that supports claims that these behaviors are directly related to the later acquisition of theory of mind (Charman et al, 2000). It has been suggested that these behaviors, in combination with language and theory of mind, may "be part of a shared socio-communicative representational system during early childhood (Charman et al., 2000)." This suggestion led me to wonder if it was possible to differentiate between the individual abilities that make up this system and how this might help inform our understanding of the very diverse level of abilities apparent across the autism spectrum. The age at which a diagnosis of autism can be made is 3.5 years (Charman et al., 2000). From what I understand, one of the goals of the study was to examine how these precursors in 18-month-olds may be linked to a future diagnosis of autism. Discussion during the seminar During the seminar, we observed and discussed the precursors of this ability during an -old child. The age of the infant is important, as Charman et al. explained how infants of this age do not possess a complete theory of mind and are unable to successfully complete a task based on false beliefs. Although a diagnosis before age three is rare, most parents of autistic children report concerns around 18 months, demonstrating that there are clear indications at this age (Rogers, 2000). We watched a video of the child interacting with his mother and scored detecting signs of these precursors from an observational checklist. We discussed our findings and chose to focus on pretend play. It has been suggested that pretend play is an early expression of an infant's metarepresentational ability.