Published on 12, July, 2020
My daughter is 6 and has been referred for an autism assessment by the SENCO at school. One major trait which everyone sees is her "literal thinking".
Some examples:
- "I don't need an 'extra hand' I already have 2."
- "I've counted 60 seconds and you're not ready, so you 'lied' about 'in n a minute'."
- "Everyone in the world doesn't have a bookbag so how can 'everyone' bring their bookbags in tomorrow?"
Etc...
Now I'm not disputing that she may be autistic, it's been on my radar for a while as her Dad is autistic, she flaps her hands/stims, it is very difficult to have a conversation with her that doesn't become tangential and she has no filter and is extremely blunt! But to me the literalness seems like cheekiness a lot of the time. She knows when you ask her what is meant by 'do you need a hand?' etc by she still comments literally every time.
Is there a line? I would have expected her not to understand the meaning if this was truly an autistic trait, and I'm not sure how to deal with it right now. Does anyone have any advice? Does anyone or their child react the same even though they do have an understanding of the intended meaning? I'm struggling a bit to understand.
Thank you
It seems to me as if she is trying to correct you and that the continued use of such phrases to her is increasingly annoying to her. In her mind what has been said does not make any sense and is not the correct use of language. To an non autistic person it appears pedantic but I certainly don't think she is being deliberately cheeky.
Even though you have explained to her that these phrases are not meant to be taken literally her brain will continue to take them literally. That's down to the way her brain is wired. Then she has to do extra processing to 'translate' what was said into something that makes logical sense. I guess it's a bit like the extra step that has to be taken if something is spoken in a foreign language. Such phrases, that make no logical sense, are like a foreign language to her. She is learning how to translate them but still does not understand why they need to be used.
It is an autistic trait and this 'literal' thinking will never go away. As she matures she may learn not to respond in the same way she is now. I think that's partly why autistic brains need extra processing time. Not only do we have to process what was said but then have to translate it into something that makes logical sense.
I know I do that sometimes. For example if someone says 'I'll be with you in a sec' or 'in a minute' I cringe. I have responded in a similar way to your daughter, even as an adult. It frustrates me that people can't just say what they mean.
So, for you autistic people are slaves of their neurology and cannot take in any subtlety of metaphor or trope, even when given a full explanation? This seems overly pessimistic; that a person can learn a literal meaning in the first place indicates that learning potential is there, the logical extension of this ability is that novel things can also be learned and that previously learned things can be modified and overlaid.
researchautism.org/.../
Oh... I'm not sure I hear that. Though I can see where you're going. Some individuals do have extra difficulty here.
I think some of us may be able to think faster, but I can honestly say I might have a nano-second pause and contemplate several meanings, look for clues, ask if I'm misinterpreting and then fire something back so fast no one noticed everything that happened in my head in that warp-speed of a moment. I mean, I LOVE irony, but there is a conscious appreciation... again. So short I shouldn't notice it!
Theatre classes paying off!!!