BODY LANGUAGE:
Descartes’ Lantern (the curious case of autism and proprioception)
by m kelter at Invisible Strings
I. I went to a psychologist one time and said, “I don’t have body language.” We spent about four years hashing that one out.
One time she asked if we could talk about my gait. She said, “When you walk, your arms never move.” And they don’t, they just hang there like pointless, arm-shaped curtains. Sometimes when I’m walking, I mentally kick at them, will them to seem lifelike. They don’t care. It’s like someone took the batteries out.
Generally, I told the psychologist, my limbs feel odd, disconnected. “The truth is that I don’t feel like I’m really here, in the same world with everyone else. It feels more like I’ve been ineptly superimposed over a photograph that everyone else is in.” READ MORE
Descartes’ Lantern (the curious case of autism and proprioception)
by m kelter at Invisible Strings
I. I went to a psychologist one time and said, “I don’t have body language.” We spent about four years hashing that one out.
One time she asked if we could talk about my gait. She said, “When you walk, your arms never move.” And they don’t, they just hang there like pointless, arm-shaped curtains. Sometimes when I’m walking, I mentally kick at them, will them to seem lifelike. They don’t care. It’s like someone took the batteries out.
Generally, I told the psychologist, my limbs feel odd, disconnected. “The truth is that I don’t feel like I’m really here, in the same world with everyone else. It feels more like I’ve been ineptly superimposed over a photograph that everyone else is in.” READ MORE
Happy
by Diary of a Mom
"...But above all, I found it difficult because my sweet, beautiful girl just looked so different in the photos. What I saw in her face, or didn’t see, made my heart ache for her.
Last night, everything changed. For the millionth time, once I was able to recognize the fact that I was making assumptions based on my own experiences, I was able to follow my daughter’s lead and break open what I thought I saw, what I thought I knew...." READ MORE
by Diary of a Mom
"...But above all, I found it difficult because my sweet, beautiful girl just looked so different in the photos. What I saw in her face, or didn’t see, made my heart ache for her.
Last night, everything changed. For the millionth time, once I was able to recognize the fact that I was making assumptions based on my own experiences, I was able to follow my daughter’s lead and break open what I thought I saw, what I thought I knew...." READ MORE
Though the video is titled in/ex troversion, this is also a good illustration of "spoon theory" - how energy is supplied/diminished for people on the spectrum as they go through their day and interact with the world.
in/ex troversion from Julia Rodrigues on Vimeo.
SOCIAL INTERACTION:
Words by The Third Glance
I’m sitting with a group of people, not a huge group, but maybe 4 or 5 others. We’re chattering, or at least, they are – they’re chatting, talking, conversing. I’m listening, I have no other choice.
I hear a door open and shut. I hear their breathing. I hear the girl across from me shift from side to side. I hear their Words, and each Word means something, makes me think of something else. I put the Words into my brain, and try to organize them. Sometimes I even hear the sentences, but there’s so much going on that I have trouble figuring out what is being said. READ MORE
Words by The Third Glance
I’m sitting with a group of people, not a huge group, but maybe 4 or 5 others. We’re chattering, or at least, they are – they’re chatting, talking, conversing. I’m listening, I have no other choice.
I hear a door open and shut. I hear their breathing. I hear the girl across from me shift from side to side. I hear their Words, and each Word means something, makes me think of something else. I put the Words into my brain, and try to organize them. Sometimes I even hear the sentences, but there’s so much going on that I have trouble figuring out what is being said. READ MORE
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Assigned Friends Outcome by Judy Endow
I was taught to say, “Thank you for being my friend.”
So I say it.
I was told to smile like I mean it.
So I smile.
I know I am supposed to feel grateful
That you are my friend
That you took the class
On how to be a peer mentor to me –
The good friends way –
A pal for six weeks
You have been defined
READ MORE
I was taught to say, “Thank you for being my friend.”
So I say it.
I was told to smile like I mean it.
So I smile.
I know I am supposed to feel grateful
That you are my friend
That you took the class
On how to be a peer mentor to me –
The good friends way –
A pal for six weeks
You have been defined
READ MORE
Stop romanticizing neurotypicality by Real Social Skills
When I hear people, autistic or otherwise, talk about autistic social difficulties, they often say things along the lines of:
When I hear people, autistic or otherwise, talk about autistic social difficulties, they often say things along the lines of:
- "You and I just know all of these rules intuitively, but people with autism find them mysterious and have to learn them explicitly"
- "All of these rules that you neurotypicals pick up naturally are very very difficult for those of us on the spectrum"
EYE CONTACT:
Eye Contact – or the lack thereof: Don’t push it by Walkin on the Edge
(please note, the author of the link is NT - but the information given to the author was provided by autistic bloggers in response to a request for help re. IEP's and eye contact.)
Many thanks to Musings of an Aspie for providing this information to help me in tweaking my son’s future IEP’s, with the intent of lessening the focus on eye-contact as a goal. I’m NT. I get the preference/social mores for eye-contact. But when eye contact actually causes PROBLEMS with stress, cognition, etc. for an autistic person, alternatives need to be found that work best for the autistic person , then for NT social mores.
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Here are some links that might be helpful. I owe a huge thanks to Sparrow at Unstrange Mind for locating the research papers and writing up the synopses. I hope this is helpful and not overwhelming. READ MORE
Eye Contact – or the lack thereof: Don’t push it by Walkin on the Edge
(please note, the author of the link is NT - but the information given to the author was provided by autistic bloggers in response to a request for help re. IEP's and eye contact.)
Many thanks to Musings of an Aspie for providing this information to help me in tweaking my son’s future IEP’s, with the intent of lessening the focus on eye-contact as a goal. I’m NT. I get the preference/social mores for eye-contact. But when eye contact actually causes PROBLEMS with stress, cognition, etc. for an autistic person, alternatives need to be found that work best for the autistic person , then for NT social mores.
***************
Here are some links that might be helpful. I owe a huge thanks to Sparrow at Unstrange Mind for locating the research papers and writing up the synopses. I hope this is helpful and not overwhelming. READ MORE