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kimber_mcleod21 things NOT to say to a person with autism--literally
I get what she's saying here, I really do. Early on with Ian I had to be very careful not to say some of these things as well, for the reasons stated here. When you say something to a child on the spectrum they literally take your statement...literally.
However, depending where they are on the spectrum, they are quite capable of LEARNING not to. Particularly on the high end of the spectrum, if the parent/caregiver/therapist works with the child around the issues of non-literal thinking and theory of mind, they are quite capable of not only understanding sarcasm and abstract conversational phrasing but using it quite adeptly.
One thing I never expected to hear from Ian's teachers was that he has a dry, rapier wit. On Thanksgiving when he was 4 or 5 someone said to him when he went back for seconds "You must have a hollow leg!" laughing as she said it. He looked at her in all earnestness and said "Actually it's full of muscle bones and tendons." I assumed I would spend the rest of my life interpreting NT (Neuro Typical) speech into Aspie (Asperger's) speech. But now, the boy can snark with the best of them, and honestly, as much as I and his therapists have worked with him on this, I have to give most of the credit to Ian. Just as with body language, facial expressions and understood social etiquette, he has taught himself to understand and appropriately use abstract and sarcastic speech. He's gotten the better of me once or twice, bless him. He and his sister have a "Snark Mommy" contest ongoing. LOL
So never say never. And don't assume that any disability label comes with a preset list of inviolate rules. Just as any child, ours will live up to the lowest expectations we set for them. If you don't tell them they're not supposed to be able to do something, you might be surprised at what they end up doing.
I get what she's saying here, I really do. Early on with Ian I had to be very careful not to say some of these things as well, for the reasons stated here. When you say something to a child on the spectrum they literally take your statement...literally.
However, depending where they are on the spectrum, they are quite capable of LEARNING not to. Particularly on the high end of the spectrum, if the parent/caregiver/therapist works with the child around the issues of non-literal thinking and theory of mind, they are quite capable of not only understanding sarcasm and abstract conversational phrasing but using it quite adeptly.
One thing I never expected to hear from Ian's teachers was that he has a dry, rapier wit. On Thanksgiving when he was 4 or 5 someone said to him when he went back for seconds "You must have a hollow leg!" laughing as she said it. He looked at her in all earnestness and said "Actually it's full of muscle bones and tendons." I assumed I would spend the rest of my life interpreting NT (Neuro Typical) speech into Aspie (Asperger's) speech. But now, the boy can snark with the best of them, and honestly, as much as I and his therapists have worked with him on this, I have to give most of the credit to Ian. Just as with body language, facial expressions and understood social etiquette, he has taught himself to understand and appropriately use abstract and sarcastic speech. He's gotten the better of me once or twice, bless him. He and his sister have a "Snark Mommy" contest ongoing. LOL
So never say never. And don't assume that any disability label comes with a preset list of inviolate rules. Just as any child, ours will live up to the lowest expectations we set for them. If you don't tell them they're not supposed to be able to do something, you might be surprised at what they end up doing.
