I am hoping someone comes up with a new term to describe our gifted, often introverted kids who have some social anxiety, but are typical (or advanced) in their speech development, empathy levels and understanding of other people's point of view. A Theory of Mind deficit comes up in some definitions of autism or Aspergers, but not all. If a child has a good understanding of Theory of Mind, should they be diagnosed with PDD-NOS? Not in my opinion, but, ToM seems to be ignored by some clinicians.
To me, processing deficits can impact social skills - for instance, if you have an auditory processing deficit, you will miss alot of fast paced conversations in a group and may avoid them so you don't get teased.
