If autistic children initiate at all, it often does not fit the context. For example, they may ask the same question over and over again, despite having received an answer. These questions, however, are often irrelevant to the topic being discussed. Also, difficulties in sharing attention and in spontaneous use of expressive gestures are reported. The dominant aspect of the continuum of autistic disorders is seen as an impairment of social interaction.
Social interaction is divided into three categories, called the triad .
Firstly, impairment of social recognition involves an inability to recognize other human beings as the most rewarding features of our environment. Secondly, impairment of social communication indicates a lack of interaction through the medium of language. Thirdly, impairment of social imagination affects the ability to copy another person s action with genuine understanding of its purpose and meaning. As reported, this impairment of social interaction can be seen as a single cognitive deficit, which means a lack of a theory of mind . As mentioned above, the concept of a theory of mind means, children who lack this ability are not able to distinguish between the world and its mental representation, which in turn means that there is no distinction between first order representation and second order representation.