Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Pictures

People are always looking for the single magic bullet that will totally change everything. There is no single magic bullet.- Temple Grandin


On the mountains of truth you can never climb in vain: either you will reach a point higher up today, or you will be training your powers so that you will be able to climb higher tomorrow. -Friedrich Nietzsche  
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So, perhaps the world's most famous person with an Autism Spectrum Disorder is Temple Grandin.  Anyone who has HBO has probably seen the movie about her.  Dr. Grandin has done so much for the Autism community by sharing her life and describing how she experiences the world.

Although I have not yet fully read her book, Thinking in Pictures, the excerpts I have read have helped us tremendously in understanding and deciphering our Little Man.

It is clear to us that much like Dr. Grandin, our Little Man thinks in pictures, not words.  I recall one day, when were trying to play Wii where my oldest and I were trying to teach the Little Man to push the "A" and "B" buttons on the controller at the same time. We tried to no avail.  Like imbeciles, the oldest and I, acting like we were talking to an Aunt with hearing problems, increased the volume of our speech:  PRESS "A" and "B."  No luck  One second later, the image of what to do popped up on the screen  -- no words -- and viola!  He unlocked it!

Visual image + no words = Ideal Learning Environment.

The best way I can get my feeble mind around it is to think of words as a foreign language to him.  Sure he can do it, but it is not his natural language.  Pictures are his natural language.  That discovery (which came with the assistance of some wonderful professionals) has unlocked so many doors for us.

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