difficulty interpreting words and sayings, often taking things literally. For example, the child might cross out the word 'all' in the heading 'All about me' on a worksheet and re-label it 'Some things about me' not always understanding the subtle meaning of words to describe behaviours and emotions.
Literal thinking in a child with High-Functioning Autism (HFA) goes far beyond the concrete thinking that is associated with young kids or learning disabled children. It results from the underlying communication disorder, which makes them unable to understand the shifting meaning of words in changing situations.
If you take something literally, you think that a word or expression is being used with its most simple or basic meaning. That was meant to be a joke, but he took it literally.
Children with Asperger's Syndrome often show no delays in their language development. They are likely to have good grammar skills and an advanced vocabulary, but they also tend to be very literal. They have trouble using language in a social context.
Many of those with autism are considered concrete thinkers who tend to focus on the “here and now”. This can lead to difficulties in generalisations. As part of concrete thought process there is therefore a tendency to take words or phrases literally.
2.3 Taking things literally
Another noticeable language difference is taking the meaning of words, phrases and sentences literally – for instance a child told 'pull your socks up', meaning 'try harder', may assume that it is their socks which need attention.
Because someone with ASD might take things literally when they hear a person else say something such as I'm a real ball of fire after a couple of drinks, they think this is literally true because the person with ASD only uses language literally.
Aspies tend to express love through practical actions, whereas NTs are more likely to express love through words or symbolic actions.
They have one-track minds that focus narrowly but intensely, some-times producing long-winded lecturing on subjects of interest only to themselves. They are often clumsy, with poor handwriting and sometimes repetitive movements like rocking, or routines that resemble obsessive-compulsive behavior.
Fixations or Intense Interests
Most common in high-functioning people with autism, fixations often manifest as intense focus surrounding a certain topic or area of interest. For example, a person with autism may obsessively practice a particular skill, or may read every book and article written about a certain subject.
Analytical Thinking: People with an autism spectrum disorder think in a logically consistent way that leads to quick decision making. These thinkers can make decisions without experiencing the framing effect that inhibits most neurotypicals from making decisions without bias.
A few different factors converge to explain why autistic people have an “overly full head” and disorganized thoughts, as well as why we may be scatterbrained, quick to lose oversight, and more prone to overstimulation and dysregulation. All these factors are likely caused by overconnectivity in the brain.
These problems (or complications as I prefer to call them) can take various forms, but without question one of the most widely recognised is the way autistic people seem to take everything literally.
Facial expressions smooth social interactions: A smile may show interest, a frown empathy. People with autism have difficulty making appropriate facial expressions at the right times, according to an analysis of 39 studies1. Instead, they may remain expressionless or produce looks that are difficult to interpret.
Many autistic people have intense and highly-focused interests, often from a fairly young age. These can change over time or be lifelong. It can be art, music, gardening, animals, postcodes or numbers. For many younger children it's Thomas the Tank Engine, dinosaurs or particular cartoon characters.
Because Aspies tend to talk and act differently to NTs, they commonly attract a specific type of partner. Their spouses are often caring and nurturing and have strong protective instincts. In many ways, they become a link between their Aspie and society.
We generally have a wide 'vocabulary' of expressions of affection but someone with Asperger's syndrome may have a more limited vocabulary and problems with the intensity of expression. One of my adult clients with Asperger's syndrome said, 'We feel and show affection but not often enough and at the wrong intensity. '
People with autism may get easily attached to people, leading them to become over-friendly. It can be difficult to understand other people's perceptions of situations, therefore what they feel is appropriate, may be considered as socially unacceptable.
Symptoms of High-Functioning Autism
They don't make much eye contact or small talk. People on the spectrum who are high-functioning can also be very devoted to routine and order. They might have repetitive and restrictive habits that seem odd to others. There's a wide range of how they do with school and work.
'Mindblindness':
Studies quickly showed that autistic children are uniquely challenged in their ability to take another person's perspective and to understand when they held a false belief.
"If someone says something is literally the case, they usually want to add emphasis," he says. Ian Brookes, consultant editor at Collins English Dictionary, agrees the figurative and metaphorical use of the word crept into the English language as an intensifier.
Figuratively is more imaginative, it's used when you mean something didn't really happen. It's metaphorical, as in these examples with boats and feathers: Besides, figuratively speaking, they are still in the same boat. ( Mayne Reid) So Josh—as he figuratively put it—had not a feather to fly with. (
An idiom is an expression whose meaning is different from the literal meaning, like “It's raining cats and dogs.” Find more idiom resources on VocabularySpellingCity. Some of the most challenging words (and phrases) for students to learn are those that are metaphorical in nature – words not meant to be taken literally.