ABSTRACT

Communication is reportedly one of the greatest challenges faced by individuals living with Rett Syndrome (RTT) due to the apraxia associated with RTT (Kauffman, 2017). Individuals with RTT most often rely on eye-communication. Parents of children with RTT report frustration regarding the interpretation of their child’s emotional state/needs. As children with RTT are more apt to use eye-contact/gazing, Emotion-recognition (ER) is a valued skill needed to interpret their child’s emotional state. As RTT parents rely heavily on non-verbal communication to speak with their child, it was hypothesized that: (1) RTT parents would present significantly higher ER skills than non-RTT parents, (2) RTT parents would present a more malleable mindset, and (3) females would present significantly higher ER skills than males. This study has surveyed 45 RTT parents and 25 non-RTT parents. Intelligence beliefs were assessed using Greenleaf’s (2014) Growth and Fixed Mindset Inventory. Baron-Cohen’s (2001) Reading the Mind in the Eye Test (RMET) was used to assess ER skills. RTT parent status and ER skills as well as gender and ER skills were assessed using two independent t-Tests. The relationship between mindset and ER skills was assessed using a Pearson Correlation. The results of this study suggest that RTT parents are better at reading emotions by interpreting eye-communication (t(69)= -2.92, p= .01). Following implications will help professionals better understand the mindset and ER skills of RTT parents and how the relationship between these variables may help encourage parent-child communication.