Understanding Autism_ Literal Thinking

1. Understanding Autism_ Literal Thinking There are many different traits and behaviors that are often associated with autism and related disorders, including literal thinking. What is literal thinking? Literal thinking, sometimes referred to as concrete thinking, refers to the way in which we view the world around us. By definition, literal thinkers “may take information at face value without thinking beyond or generalizing the information to other meanings or situations.” However, this manner of thinking can sometimes lead to communication issues, in children (or adults) with autism and related disorders, when they are introduced to abstract concepts. Why do children with autism tend to think literally? Children with autism and related disorders tend to think literally because they tend to adopt a more concrete thought process. They like to be able to understand what is happening around them, meaning that they’ll find automatic trains of thought to be confusing as they are not always sensical or straightforward. What are the benefits of literal thinking? Literal thinking can come in handy in many different areas of your child’s life. For example, it often enables them to perform well in school, especially in subjects that are based in fact or the ability to recognize patterns. For example, in one study by Stanford University, “children with autism and average IQs consistently demonstrated superior math skills compared with non autistic children in the same IQ range.” Literal thinking can also help your children make smarter, more informed decisions in other areas of their life, as they’re better able to assess the situation and determine the best course of action. Furthermore, employers are often on the lookout for literal thinkers. When can literal thinking present a problem? As discussed above, one of the biggest issues that children with autism and related disorders encounter with literal thinking is difficulty understanding abstract thoughts and concepts. While neurotypical people may find it easy to use idioms such as “under the weather”, or “piece of cake”, various studies have found that “children with ASD face greater difficulty than normal children in understanding idioms; they fail to consider social context and tend to interpret expressions literally.” For example, if they are told that information came “straight from the horse’s mouth”, this could be a point of confusion for them. More generally, this thought pattern also means that children with ASD may also be straighter to the point when communicating with others – which can sometimes appear as though they are being rude. While this is not the case, it can make it harder for them to communicate, especially among others within their age group. However, there are many ways in which you can encourage your child to become more familiar with abstract thinking or abstract concepts. For example, simply talking about different idioms and how they are used in conversation can help them to better understand why they exist. You could even turn this into a fun game, where each person has to guess the meaning of the idiom, or where it came from. Therapeutic services can also prove useful when it comes to helping your child see the world from a different perspective, whether they’re enrolled in speech therapy or ABA. If you’d like to find out more or would like to meet one of our qualified, friendly therapists, please do not hesitate to get in touch today.