IndexIntroductionReadingSeminar discussionAnalysisResultsConclusionsIntroduction“Having a theory of mind means being able to reflect on the contents of one's own mind and that of others. (Simon Baron-Cohen, 2001)”. As discussed by Uta Firth, it is not possible to 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 child who I suspected was autistic. I will refer to this child throughout the essay and will use the pen name Mika from now on. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay I will provide a brief synopsis of the recommended reading, class discussion, and how they relate to each other. I will discuss how this newly acquired information allowed me to reflect on previous professional experiences. I will then reflect on how this knowledge might inform my future practice as a child psychotherapist. I will use the insights gained from this experience along with this new knowledge to identify important potential challenges that may arise in forming a trusting relationship and selecting the therapeutic approach I will adopt. These reflections can further help me understand and empathize with future patients.ReadingIn prescribed reading, Charman, Baron-Cohen, Swettenham, Baird, Cox & Drew examined the relationship between joint attention, play and imitation skills, and the development of theory of mind. There is currently little direct empirical evidence to support the claim that these behaviors are directly linked to subsequent acquisition of theory of mind (Charman et al, 2000). It has been suggested that these behaviors, in combination with language and theory of mind, might “form part of a shared socio-communicative representation system in childhood (Charman et al., 2000).” This suggestion led me to wonder whether it was possible to distinguish between the individual abilities that make up this system and how it might help inform our understanding of the widely varying level of abilities evident within the autism spectrum. The age at which a diagnosis of autism can be made is 3.5 years (Charman et al., 2000). As I understand it, one of the goals of the study was to examine how these precursors in 18-month-olds may relate to future autism diagnoses. Workshop Discussion In the workshop, we observed and discussed the precursors of this ability in an 18-month-old child. -old child. The age of the child is significant, as Charman et al. they discussed how children of that age do not possess a complete theory of mind and are incapable of passing a false belief task. Although a diagnosis before the age of 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 baby interacting with his mother and noted down signs of these precursors from an observation checklist. We discussed our findings and chose to focus on pretend play. It has been suggested that pretend play is an early expression of the child's capacity for metarepresentation (Leslie, 1994). Metarepresentation is important for developing a theory of mind, since it involves the representation of a representation and this,.