Theory of mind (ToM) is a precursor to empathy development, and it is known that parental use of mind minded (MM) statements (i.e., comments that use internal state terms to speculate on what a child is thinking, experiencing, feeling) predicts ToM skills. This is crucial, especially for Down syndrome (DS), a developmental disorder (DD) associated with weaknesses in ToM but relative strengths in empathy skills. This study sought to examine differences in parental use of MM statements among 14 children with DS and 14 typically developing (TD) peers of a similar mental ability level. As it has been suggested that individuals with DS may be treated as developmentally younger, it was hypothesized that parents of those with DS may make fewer MM statements than parents of TD youth. To test this, videos of parent-child interactions were transcribed and coded for parental use of MM statements. Contrary to expectations, groups did not differ in the use of MM statements about cognitions and desires, but parents of youth with DS made more emotion-focused MM statements than parents of TD youth. Future research should seek to replicate these findings with a larger sample and also include a sample of children with another DD (e.g., autism).
