Résumé
Cerebral palsy frequently combines motor impairments with cognitive and behavioral problems. Theory of mind skills, which are developed in correlation with cognitive development and more specifically with social interaction and language, may be impacted by cerebral palsy. Through this study, we wanted to evaluate Theory of Mind in 17 children and adolescents with cerebral palsy in order to study, first, the development of this skill in this population and, second, the relationship between communication skills, motor limitations and Theory of Mind skills. To do so, we used the Theory of Mind task battery to assess different aspects of ToM, the Vineland II communication questionnaire, the gross motor and communication function classification systems. Our results show a typical but delayed development of Theory of Mind in this population. Inter-test correlations also highlight that performance on the Theory of Mind task battery and the Vineland II communication questionnaire are significantly related. Research including a larger sample would allow further analysis of the impact of the variables "type of communication" and "gross motor skills", two variables that seem to interact with the development of ToM in cerebral palsy subject.