I've been reading more #Wikipedia articles on #autism-related topics. I'm currently in the middle of the article on "Theory of mind". I've criticized the "theory of mind deficit" theory before, as both misleading and demeaning. But I was still unprepared for one revelation from the Wiki: the "theory of mind deficit" theory wasn't even developed as a way of understanding #autistics. It was introduced by Premack and Woodruff as a way of understanding CHIMPANZEES, and adapted by Baron-Cohen, Leslie, and Frith to apply to us! Apparently it didn't occur to them that it might be problematic to use the term "theory" so broadly as to refer to any mental structure used to comprehend other minds — however lacking it might be in the explicitness and logical structure implied by that term. Or that it might be MORE problematic to do so in reference to autistics than in reference to chimpanzees. Thus it was that the science of autism lent credibility to a confusion between our comparative lack of INTUITIVE understanding of other minds, and our supposed inability even to understand the CONCEPT of other minds.
Premack D, Woodruff G (December 1978). "Does the chimpanzee have a theory of mind?". Behavioral and Brain Sciences. 1 (4): 515–526. doi:10.1017/S0140525X00076512.
Baron-Cohen S, Leslie AM, Frith U (October 1985). "Does the autistic child have a "theory of mind"?" (PDF). Cognition. 21 (1): 37–46. doi:10.1016/0010-0277(85)90022-8. PMID 2934210. S2CID 14955234. Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 September 2017.