Just because I look ‘Fine’ ..doesn’t mean I am !!!
The words of an 11 Year old autistic boy, my son…
People without Autism tend to look for clues in a child’s body language to see how they are feeling.
Unfortunately some children with Autism have no idea about body language.
What comes natural to most Neuro Typical children, (non autistic children) has to be learned by some Autistic children.
I remember one day watching my son who’s special interests is rollercoasters….
He went into a roller coaster simulator. Now my son tells me he just loves roller coasters and loves the feeling they give him. He would spend all day everyday on rollercoasters or talk about them, build them and watch other people riding them. Roller coasters are his passion.
As a coincidence, there was a camera fitted on the outside of this simulator, so I was able to study his reactions in detail.
He didn’t moved a muscle. His facial expressions did not move at all. There was no external response on his face.
When he got off the ride, I asked him ‘did you enjoy that ?’ He said ‘yeah it was amazing I loved it’.
He just didn’t know how to tell his face that.
This was a few years ago, my son is nearly 15 now, and although we have come on in leaps and bounds by teaching him facial expressions, he can still go from looking extremely happy, to punching his tv in a split second.
WELCOME TO MY INNER SANCTUARY 