Autism spectrum disorder is a condition of inadequate social behavior that affects approximately 1 in 100 people. Diagnosis is made by referral, for a formal assessment which will usually be multidisciplinary. Autism spectrum disorder is an incurable disorder, however people with autism spectrum disorder can be helped through the use of intervention therapy and various medications. These therapies usually teach the child how to deal with various social situations, while medications are used to neutralize brain functions related to autism spectrum disorder. In 1911 the term autism was first coined by a psychiatrist named Eugne Bleuler. He used this term to describe patients with schizophrenic traits that cause them to withdraw from social contact. However in 1943 Leo Kanner suggested that children who display certain personality characteristics suffer from autism; It was this study that defined autism spectrum disorder as its own condition and not a branch of schizophrenia as previously thought. This was the development of autism as it is known today. In 1944 Hans Asperger described four boys as autistic, these boys had traits of what is now known as Asperger's syndrome. Over time two major theories of autism spectrum cognition were developed, one of which is theory of mind (ToM), the other weak central coherence (WCC). ToM is the ability to connect mental states, intentions, beliefs, knowledge, fictions and desires. One of the most influential individuals to speak out in the field of ToM regarding autism spectrum disorder was Alan Leslie. He proposed that children with autism lack ToM. This idea came from an experiment performed by Baron-Cohen, Leslie and Fr...... half of the document ...... er trouble. Pellicano, Maybery, Durkin, and Maley (2006) considered that WCC may occur alongside deficiencies in social cognition, rather than explain them. Although both cognitive theories have their strengths and weaknesses, both have made valuable contributions to the understanding and treatment of ASD. However both theories lack the ability to be generalized, this is due to the concept that ASD is a spectrum and it is difficult to generalize study findings when each individual displays unique autistic traits. Therefore both theories have limited ecological validity, making their application to the population difficult. As for theory preference, I prefer WCC. This is because it accepts that individuals with ASD may have central coherence unlike ToM which does not take into account individuals who have actually successfully completed false belief tasks.