Conversations with a literal thinker

This post is based on my sons understanding of language. Many parents of children with ASD will be able to relate.

Here I’ve taken a few of mine and Little mans memorable  conversations in an attempt to highlight just how literal someone with autism and Aspergers can be. Though these are quite funny and harmless, there have been times when little mans literal understanding has fuelled anxieties and caused him a great deal of stress. Growing up little man has struggled to understand jokes, metaphors, and sarcasm, with this becoming more apparent with age. It’s quite stressful at times as he won’t always express that he hasn’t understood, Instead his anxiety will be displayed though highly challenging behaviors. These such behaviors are the reason we as parents, teacher, friends or other should learn to adjust and simplify the language we use. Over time Little man has learned that when I turned and said to a friend in a stressed out tone of voice  ”I’m gonna kill that boy in a minute”  I didn’t actually mean it!  Still it’s rather sad to think that at one stage in his life, he considered his mother the murdering type.