In the old, dark Bettelheim days of autism, it was assumed by many that those with the disorder didn’t desire communication. We’ve since come to understand that a lack of ability doesn’t necessarily reflect a lack of desire.
But it likely demands, at the very least, a different approach. Some discover analogs. Owen Suskind, for example, is a high-functioning autistic young man who has used dialogue and characters from Disney cartoons to express complex thoughts and emotions, as described beautifully in his father’s book, Life, Animated.
However, this isn’t just for those with Asperger’s or those considered high-functioning, as my own son, Ben — on the opposite end of the spectrum — has shown us, for better or worse (though really, it’s mostly better).
Ben is very verbal, but perhaps paradoxically, not very communicative, verbally….
Read the rest at Huffington Post: Autism, Communication, Books and Cartoons