biostudies-literaturePolyanskaya IFoundation for the National Institutes of HealthNIMH NIH HHS3991-4006https://www.ebi.ac.uk/biostudies/studies/S-EPMC8920946biostudies-literatureUnknown52(9)This study investigates the role of recursive language and working memory (WM) in second-order false belief skills in Danish-speaking children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD; n = 62; 8 females) and typical development (n = 41; 15 females), ages 6-16. Second-order false belief skills correlated with receptive grammar, vocabulary, and age; sentential complement production predicted second-order false beliefs, controlling for age, receptive grammar and WM. Regressions showed that second-order false belief was associated with age across groups, but with sentential complements in the ASD group only. Second-order false belief skills improved in children who received training in either recursive phrases (d = 0.21) or WM (d = 0.74), compared to an active control group. Results suggest that falJournal of autism and developmental disordersSecond-Order False Beliefs and Linguistic Recursion in Autism Spectrum Disorder.PMC8920946R01MH112687-01A1R01 MH112687Eigsti IMBrauner TPolyanskaya IBlackburn PfalseSecond-Order False Beliefs and Linguistic Recursion in Autism Spectrum Disorder.This study investigates the role of recursive language and working memory (WM) in second-order false belief skills in Danish-speaking children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD; n = 62; 8 females) and typical development (n = 41; 15 females), ages 6-16. Second-order false belief skills correlated with receptive grammar, vocabulary, and age; sentential complement production predicted second-order false beliefs, controlling for age, receptive grammar and WM. Regressions showed that second-order false belief was associated with age across groups, but with sentential complements in the ASD group only. Second-order false belief skills improved in children who received training in either recursive phrases (d = 0.21) or WM (d = 0.74), compared to an active control group. Results suggest that fal2022-01-01T00:00:00Z2022 Sep2025-04-04T20:41:36.814Z2025-04-04T20:41:36.814ZS-EPMC89209463452458610.1007/s10803-021-05277-1