Theory of mind suggests that the ability to determine another's state of mind is innate and developed, displayed through stages as a child grows. The shared attention phenomenon demonstrates an early sign of this (gaze following and interest sharing). If the theory of Mental Blindness is true, ASD children should show impaired or no signs of this.

Largely, this is determined to be true. Failing to show signs of shared attention in infants is a predictive sign of future ASD diagnosis in infants, and is utilized as an early screening tool.