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  The concept of theory of mind (ToM) refers to the ability to predict and explain feelings, thoughts, ideas and intentions of self and others. Patients with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) show a deficient development of theory of mind. Specifically, individuals with autism spectrum disorders fail to understand not only that others have minds, but also that other minds have different thoughts, and that behavior is determined by mental states. Individuals with ASD have marked difficulties to infer their own and other persons' mental states, what has been referred to as theory of mind. It has also been claimed that a person with autism spectrum disorders in part fail to respond appropriately to the emotional experiences of others These results show that although children with autism spectrum disorders can learn a simple discrimination between two identities, adaptive face-coding mechanisms are severely compromised, offering a new explanation for previously reported face-perception difficulties and possibly for some of the core social deficits in autism spectrum disorders. The author’s propose that the prefrontal cortex is involved in theory of mind; also, internal simulation mechanisms, such as the mirror neuron system, are necessary for normal development of recognition, imitation, theory of mind, empathy, and language. Additionally, the authors suggest that dysfunctional simulation mechanisms may underlie the social and communicative deficits seen in individuals with autism spectrum disorders.

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Aim and Background: Autism disorders are neurodevelopmental disorders that are characterized by problems in communication and social interactions, behaviors, interests and limited and repetitive activities. The purpose of this research was to study Comparing the effectiveness of Anat Baniel's Method for Neuro -motor intervention and The Son- Rise Program on social interactions and stereotyped behavior of children with autism.Anat Baniel's Method is the Neuro -Movement therapy.
Methods and Materials: This research was a semi-experimental study with pre-test-post-test with control group design. The statistical population includes all children with autism in the age of 4-10 years who referred to the autism centers of Khomein in 2021. From the statistical population, the number of 30 children with autism disorder and the conditions of entry into the research were included in the study with the purposeful sampling method, then they were randomly divided into two experimental groups and a control group of 10 people in each group. GARS-2 test (Gilliam Autism Rating Scale) test was used to collect information as a pre-test and post-test. The data were analyzed using Shapiro-Wilk tests and multivariate covariance analysis at a significance level of 0.05.
Findings: The findings showed that there was a significant difference between the mean of stereotyped behavior (p<.001, η=.68) and social interaction (p= .001, η=.90) in the experimental and control groups. Also, the findings showed that the Son-Rise program is significantly more effective in improving the social interactions of children with autism disorder than anat baneil's neuro-motor intervention.
Conclusions: Evidence was found to support Anat Baniel's Method (ABM) of neuro-motor therapy and the Son-Rise program in the post-test have led to the reduction of stereotyped behavior and improvement of social interactions of children with autism disorder and the Son-Rise program has been more effective in improving the social interactions of these children