An Integrated Account of Social Cognition in ASD: Bringing Together Situated Cognition and Theory Theor

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a heterogeneous neurodevelopmental disorder. I argue that an account of social cognition that combines elements from situated cognition and theory theory can best account for the range and variety of social abilities and disabilities in ASD. Situated cognition places emphasis on the contribution of the perceptions and bodies of individuals to social interactions. Theory theory focuses upon the development of a theory of mind and the mental processes that guide social understanding and interaction.;Proponents of situated cognition argue that properly embedding within a social environment is an important element for the development of social rapport. Coordinating social rhythms with others, such as walking rhythms and postural sway rhythms, are important for the development of social rapport. Individuals with ASD, due to movement atypicalities, do not embed fully within social environments. Difficulties with embedding within a social environment may lead to social isolation.;Due to attentional, learning, and movement atypicalities and to not fully embedding within social environments, individuals with ASD develop a less robust theory of mind. Theory of mind is a hierarchical model that consists of many integrated models of social situations. Early social development delays will cause a cycle of delays in social development. The development of a theory of mind involves observing and participating within social environments and using these observations and experiences to construct models of social situations. These models are used to guide attention and behavior in new social situations. Individuals on the spectrum observe less social stimuli and participate less within social environments. Furthermore, learning atypicalities likely interfere with the development of social models and with grouping similar social models together in order to develop a more robust understanding of different types of social situations.;A different and insufficient theory of mind and movement atypicalities will cause individuals on the spectrum to insufficiently embed within social environments, which will cause individuals with ASD to be socially isolated, and thus miss out on the social experiences necessary for social development. Social cognition is best understood as a complex process involving the perceptions, actions, and theory of mind of the individual participating within the social interaction, the perceptions, actions, and theory of mind of others participating within the social interaction, the body of the individual, the bodies of others, and the overall social environment created by the dynamic interplay of these elements. An individual on the spectrum may have atypicalities in some or all of these elements involved in social cognition. The atypicalities possessed by the individual on the spectrum will work together and feed into one another in order to cause the unique set of social atypicalities experienced by the individual on the spectrum. Interventions, thus, should thus focus upon addressing the individual atypicalities of individuals with ASD and upon teaching typically-developed individuals to create social environments that are more inclusive of individuals with ASD.