Motor Skills And Theory Of Mind In Children With Intellectual Disabilities: The Mediating Role Of Executive Function

Theory of mind refers to an individual’s ability to guess on the mental states of others and thus predict their conduct.It is directly related to children with intellectual disability’ emotional regulation,social interaction,and internalization.Theoretical foundations for the link between motor abilities and theory of mind are provided by "Mirror Neuron Theory" and "Embodied Social Cognitive Theory." However,just a few empirical research on the link between the two exist.These empirical investigations are frequently cross-sectional in nature and focus on typical developmental groups.They are not only lacking in adequate longitudinal data support,but they are also unable to overcome the limits of specialized test groups.Many literatures have pointed out that executive function is closely related to motor skills and theory of mind in children with intellectual disabilities,which shows that the executive function of children with intellectual disabilities is not only affected by the development level of motor skills,but it also provides a certain promotion for the development of theory of mind.As a result,executive function in mentally impaired children may be the direct or indirect source of the link between motor skills and theory of mind.In view of the above,the purpose of this paper is to investigate(1)the longitudinal impact of motor skills on the level of theory of mind in children with intellectual disabilities,and(2)the role of executive function in mediating the relationship between motor skills and theory of mind in children with intellectual disabilities.In this study,74 children with intellectual disabilities(52 boys and 22 girls)were chosen as subjects and were followed at two periods in time(one year apart).All children took motor skill,executive function,and theory of mind exams at both time periods.As a result,the following is the outcome:(1)The movement skills of children with intellectual disabilities predict their degree of theory of mind one year later,indicating that the stronger the motor skills of children with intellectual disabilities,the higher their level of theory of mind after one year.(2)After one year,the executive function of children with intellectual disabilities plays a moderating role in their motor skills and theory of mind.In other words,the greater the degree of executive function in children with intellectual disabilities after one year,and children with higher levels of executive function will show stronger levels of theory of mind at the same time point.This thesis finds that the development of motor skills in children with intellectual disabilities not only directly affects their subsequent development of theory of mind,but also indirectly affects theory of mind through executive function,using a longitudinal research design at two time points(one year apart).The findings not only add to the research on the mechanisms that influence the theory of mind level of children with intellectual disabilities,but also provide a new direction for families and special education schools to improve the theory of mind of children with intellectual disabilities from the perspective of motor skills and executive function,that is,implement Instructional interventions that include motor skills and executive function components may have a positive impact on the theory of mind of children with intellectual disabilities.