An adult autistic perspective on growing up on the Autism Spectrum.

The following are some great things you can do to help your children with out autism to understand what the world is like for those with autism. I used a girl as the sister to a brother with autism. Young children have a hard time grasping concepts and these are some great ways to help them understand that those with autism are wired differently so we feel things differently.

experiment.mp3

At five, she needs hands on explanation, not a verbal description with concepts that she is not developmentally able to grasp yet. She understands that there are things about him that are different.  Now you need her to understand that he sees the world different too.  A few suggestions on hands on things that you can do with her: Two bowls, one with bath temperature water, and one with much cooler water, enough that there will be a huge difference.  First, have her place her hands in the warm water.  Ask her how that feels.  Then have her place her hands in the cold water and ask her how that feels.  Explain to her that she feels things on her skin with a good feeling and that her brother feels things sometimes like a bad feeling.  You can reverse this one for a more dramatic effect, but make sure the water is not to hot! Put her favorite song on and put it at a comfortable listening level.  Ask her how that sounds.  Then distort the music with the treble and the base and turn it up a little too loud and ask her how it sounds now.  Again, explain that what she hears is a very good song.  What her brother hears is different like the second time you played the song. Arrange a room with some of her favorite things, place them throughout the room and then ask her to tell you what she see’s.  Be sure to put them high and low in the middle and all around.  Then make an enclosed space, a kid size tent, or a large box she can fit in and place one object in the tent.  Explain that when she looks at things, she sees the whole picture; use of a picture can help here too.  What her brother see’s is much less.  Use a picture and show it to her.  Take a piece of construction paper and cut out a place that reveals one object in it.  This should help her to understand his focus on one thing at a time. After doing the experiments give her opportunities to reflect on them.  Ask her what she thinks her brother sees, feels, or hears.  Her using the examples with indicates that she understands that his experiences are very different from hers. 

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