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From Their Point of View
Getting Inside the Head of a Child with Autism By Jenn Director Knudsen
Notbohm goes on to write, "It's one of autism's nasty Catch 22s that the child needs to be carefully taught about social interaction, but at the same time lacks the understanding of when and how to ask for what he needs. He will need specific instruction and examples...to make requests such as 'I need help' or 'I don't understand this.'"
In another very instructive chapter "I am a concrete thinker. This means I interpret language very literally" Notbohm warns against telling a child with autism she's got ants in her pants or butterflies in her stomach. Cute to you and me, idioms and metaphors are not part of the autism mindset and can be downright scary to a child with autism. Instead, she writes in a very conversational and witty tone of "common snags" in everyday idiomatic speech that have no meaning to a child with autism. "It's important to say exactly what you mean and don't make your child or student figure out nonspecific instructions," she writes in Chapter Four.
Don't say, "I smell a rat"; say instead, "This doesn't seem right to me." And rather than "Quit kicking," instruct instead, "Keep your feet under your desk."
Bardige points out that many children with autism have a very tough time transitioning from task to task, from activity to activity, and may lash out angrily or even with self-destructive behaviors as a result. For instance, she says, telling a child with autism who's otherwise engaged and without advance warning, "Time to go home. Let's go," can set off a tantrum. One that can last hours and be nearly impossible to diffuse.
Notbohm helps her readers understand why such fury may ensue by identifying four trigger clusters: sensory overload; physical and physiological triggers; emotional triggers, such as frustration or maltreatment; and poor examples from adults. "Please show me how to do something rather than just telling me," she writes in the child's voice. "A visual schedule is extremely helpful as I move through my day. Like your day-timer, it relieves me of the stress of having to remember what comes next [and], makes for smooth transition between activities..."
