Movement restrictions of children with physical disabilities negatively affect their mobility, environment exploration, and social interaction, and cause delays in their development of social cognition, especially theory of mind. The aim of the present study was to compare the level of abilities of theory of mind in students with motor problems, mentally retarded students and students with normal development, with special attention to the role of motor disabilities. To attain the goal of this causal-comparative research 44 students with cerebral palsy (CP), 29 mentally retarded students (MR), and 46 typically developing students (TD) were recruited by convenience sampling method from schools of Zanjan, Iran. The Gross Motor Function Classification System - Expanded & Revised (GMFCS - E&R), the results of Wechsler, Leiter and Goodenough intelligence tests and 38-item Theory of Mind questionnaire were used to obtain required data. Results of multivariate analysis of variance showed CP Students performed worse in theory of mind (especially at the advanced level) compared to TD students, despite matching in terms of gender, age, and intelligence. However, students with motor disability had better performance than students with intellectual disabilities. On the whole, the results confirmed the relationship between motor limitation and theory of mind, and showed that in spite of normal intelligence, the limitation of movement can negatively affect the capabilities of theory of mind through limiting one's social relationships.

Keywords: Theory of Mind, Students, Motor Problems, Mental Retardation, Social relations

     

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