LESSON 1:
Any neurotypical adult wishing to build superior communication skills should spend some quality time with an Aspie. One can never assume that boy or girl is processing your words in the manner you intended. BIP's for our school district's children on the spectrum always include an objective or strategy the teacher can use to determine whether the pupil(s) has understood the phrasiolgy employed in the directions for completing an assignment. Taking a few moments to clarify word meanings has proven to be beneficial. I try to instruct teachers to avoid a general "Do you understand?" or "Are there any questions?" Good advice for parents, also.
His assessment indicates an IQ at 140+, but performed poorly in the high school classroom; no amount of encouragement, detentions, begging and pleading yielded any effort on his part. He would tell instructors he would conform, but their "demands don't make sense." Question: by "don't make sense" do you mean difficult to understand? "No, I understand them perfectly." Question: Do you mean trite, or silly or unreasonable or something along those lines? "No." So alright already, unpack your thinking for me. "When I die at thirty, I don't want to have spent my life doing something I didn't want to do."
LESSON 2:
Expand on lesson 1....clarify, clarify, clarify. I try to teach my charges to communicate by clarifying, also....difficult for him/her to do when the student cannot read facial expressions or nuances of language or engage in abstract thought. Some Au kids work at communicating, many don't....the process can be uncomfortable, or, "I'd rather not mess with it." But, we press on.
A kindergarten teacher backs over the tricycle in the driveway. She gets out to survey the damage and exclaims "OH OH OH, LOOK LOOK LOOK." (Dick and Jane)
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