Performance of 5- to 8-year-old typically developing children and children with autism spectrum disorder in a Chinese version of theHapp's strange stories

Abstract

This study set out to collect reference data on, and uncover the developmental changes in, advanced Theory-of-Mind (ToM) ability of Hong Kong typically-developing (TD) children and children with Asperger’s Syndrome (AS) / High-functioning Autism (HFA) aged 5-0 to 8-11 using a Chinese version of the Happé’s Strange Stories. The study also aimed to assess the difference in performance on this advanced test of ToM between Hong Kong TD children and children with AS/HFA. Cross-cultural comparisons of the performance on this advanced test of ToM between Hong Kong TD children and British TD children were also made.

The results revealed that Hong Kong TD children showed improvement in ToM ability as they grew, and so did the children with AS/HFA, although the ToM ability of children with AS/HFA developed in a manner different from that of the TD children. Results also confirmed that the children with AS/HFA had impairment of social understanding, as compared to their TD peers. Cross-cultural comparisons revealed that Hong Kong TD children may have enhanced ToM ability when comparing to their British TD counterparts, although further validation is needed to confirm this preliminary finding.

Finally, although preliminary results confirmed the discriminating power of the Happé’s Strange Stories task for young TD children and children with AS/HFA aged 5-0 to 6-11, further rigorous validation in children of varying cognitive ability and ages is needed in order to establish the clinical utility of this task as part of a comprehensive clinical assessment of high-functioning children referred for possible ASD.