Literalness in Autism: A Long-Term Challenge

Literalness in autism can be a source of long-term difficulties. You’ve probably heard a lot about the literalness of autistic individuals. If you interact with autism, you haven’t just heard about it but have experienced it firsthand. To start, this isn’t my first post; I’ve been doing this for a while, but since time is a rare commodity here, it took me a while to put pen to paper.

Organization has never been my strong suit, but there’s no denying that autism teaches you a lot about life. Today, I want to talk about situations that made me see many things about my child, including the profound literalness present in autism. Sometimes, a child with autism can be seen as systematic and methodical. But this is nothing more than the difficulty these children, and even adults, have with understanding figurative meanings.

Literalness in Autism

If you have experience with autism, you’ve probably encountered the literalness characteristic of many people within the spectrum. For those who live with autism, these situations can be particularly evident and challenging. In this post, we’ll explore how literalness affects communication and offer practical examples for better understanding.

Everyday jokes and expressions can be very challenging for autistic individuals. This type of speech can leave many autistic people confused because the complex nuances clash with their communication difficulties. Below, I’ll show some examples of phrases that often make us laugh, but for an autistic person, they only serve as another barrier to interaction.

Challenges of Figurative Communication

Phrases and expressions that might seem simple and funny to many can represent significant challenges for people with autism. Here are a few examples:

“The colleague really put his foot in it yesterday”

Literal Interpretation: What does “put his foot in it” mean? It’s a figurative expression that can cause mental confusion since figurative language is literally incomprehensible.

“It’s the color of a mule when it runs away”

Literal Interpretation: What color is that? Is there really a color called “mule when it runs away”?

“I’m going to kill you!”

Literal Interpretation: Is he really going to kill me?

It’s clear that understanding these phrases literally can indeed complicate reasoning, as “someone killing” is a dangerous situation that might trigger crises due to emotional distress.

Clear and Direct Communication is Key

For people with autism, such expressions might seem confusing or even nonsensical, and often taken literally. Clear and direct communication is essential to avoid misunderstandings.

The main function of communication is not only to convey a message but to do so effectively. We need to be very careful in our attempts to communicate with autistic individuals because, most of the time, if not always, it’s us who lack clear and direct communication. One thing I’ve learned a lot from my son is that what is very obvious to neurotypicals is not at all clear to an atypical brain.

A joke that might be funny to you simply may not make sense to a person with autism. So, imagine how unbearable it must be to constantly be in environments where everyone seems to understand things that are completely incomprehensible to you. But why does their brain work this way?

The facets of an atypical brain are still being studied in medicine, so I’m not the one to explain something so complex. The information we have today is what gradually helps us understand their atypical brain function. But understand that experience is the best study.

Literalness in Autism: Ironies, Figures of Speech, a Major Problem

It can’t be easy to struggle with social skills, complex emotional nuances, and still need to understand the facets of societal communication. The context of irony involves words said with a different meaning than the literal one, meaning you say one thing but mean another.

There are many problems involving figurative language and interpretation for autistic individuals. These are skills that often need to be trained, and repetition can help in this regard. Not that they will properly understand the irony of a phrase, but at least they will know that certain phrases are often idiomatic expressions.

We, as family members of autistic individuals, need to understand the importance of literal and direct communication because they can focus directly on what is said, without needing to understand what is implied. But how can we, with our linguistic habits, adapt to the communication of children with autism?

FOCUS ON HYPERFOCUS

The first thing to analyze is knowing your child’s interests. The starting point should be based on what they are most interested in, so a communication strategy can be developed effectively. Ben’s hyperfocus is dogs, and he’s now expanding to cats. Notice how, from this hyperfocus, I can expand his knowledge about pet animals, and later on, animals from the savannah, forest, and marine animals. See how it’s possible? It takes a lot of work, but that’s how he functions.

One thing I’ve learned in Benjamin’s online speech therapy sessions is that for any child with communication limitations, repetition alone isn’t enough. It’s important to teach the child to access their communication processes to help them form sentences, placing all essential communication elements in their proper place. After all, the art of communication needs to be linked to interactive and functional communication.

A conversation isn’t based only on repetition but on the exchange of information between two parties. Repetition only helps retain information to facilitate access when needed. Communication should be based on exchange, and it needs to be thoughtful from both individuals.

Using Literalness in Autism as a Communication Tool

Literalness in autism can cause a lot of mental confusion for the individual with autism, but it can also help them. Start noticing that when you are direct and concise, there is more interest in interaction with autistic individuals. Aligning this with their restricted interests might be the best way to communicate and interact effectively.

My tips are short and objective phrases such as:

“Wash your hands in the bathroom with soap and then dry your hands.”

It’s quite confusing for an autistic person to understand two commands. Especially if spoken, many tend to be more visual, so until it becomes part of their routine, provide visual aids so they can visualize this process, or accompany them in the activity and say only to wash their hands, and when finished, suggest drying them.

It’s important to know that neural windows opened by activities need to be closed so others can open.

“Put on your uniform and shoes, then brush your teeth.”

This phrase needs to be divided into three activities:

Put on your uniform (when done, move to the next).

Put on your shoes (when done, move to the next).

Brush your teeth.

So, did you like the post? See you next time!