Why autism education needs to change

Thanks for elucidating Zoe,

I understood your first part perfectly - what neurotypicals do is not in question. The problem facing people on the autistic spectrum is how to achieve comprehension of facial expression and how to generate the correct facial expression.

The bit about folding towels and reiterating tasks with your son from resistance to compliance horrified me. Basically it is what my parents tried to do with me.

Latterly I'm grateful to them that they did, not least because their resistance to outside interference prevented me being institutionalised (I was born in 1950) or put on inappropriate drugs. And some of their methods were valuable such as memory trays, which gave me phenomenal recall.

However a lot of it was repetitive, get it right, get it right .... The worst was when they both were going at me, regularly hitting overload. To stop me stimming they went on about not doing anything, over and over again until I stood stock still arms by my side. The regimentation and endless training did me a lot of harm in the short term and it took years to unwind all the hang upos they created.

Hence I'm truly horrified this is what you are doing to your son.

Unfortunately my parents didn't grasp the bit about eye contact and reading expressions, except to insist I look them in the eye, however painful I found it.

There are too many well meaning therapists out there with a theory but limited grasp of how it feels to be on the receiving end.

I wish NAS would pay attention to some of the theories being raised.

Thanks for elucidating Zoe,

I understood your first part perfectly - what neurotypicals do is not in question. The problem facing people on the autistic spectrum is how to achieve comprehension of facial expression and how to generate the correct facial expression.

The bit about folding towels and reiterating tasks with your son from resistance to compliance horrified me. Basically it is what my parents tried to do with me.

Latterly I'm grateful to them that they did, not least because their resistance to outside interference prevented me being institutionalised (I was born in 1950) or put on inappropriate drugs. And some of their methods were valuable such as memory trays, which gave me phenomenal recall.

However a lot of it was repetitive, get it right, get it right .... The worst was when they both were going at me, regularly hitting overload. To stop me stimming they went on about not doing anything, over and over again until I stood stock still arms by my side. The regimentation and endless training did me a lot of harm in the short term and it took years to unwind all the hang upos they created.

Hence I'm truly horrified this is what you are doing to your son.

Unfortunately my parents didn't grasp the bit about eye contact and reading expressions, except to insist I look them in the eye, however painful I found it.

There are too many well meaning therapists out there with a theory but limited grasp of how it feels to be on the receiving end.

I wish NAS would pay attention to some of the theories being raised.