How to Understand Autism: The Easy Way

Cover......Page 1
How To Understand Autism –
The Easy Way......Page 5
Contents......Page 9
Introduction......Page 11
Going beyond normal science......Page 13
Becoming autism-friendly......Page 18
The asset approach: Beyond medicalization and
the deficit approach......Page 19
Autistic meaning, mind, and self......Page 22
1.
Social Thinking and
Computer Thinking......Page 25
Real-life examples......Page 35
2.The Six Functions of Perception:

How Social and Computer Thinking
Work Together......Page 39
The big picture......Page 40
Defining the social situation: The first function......Page 41
Locating social identities: The second function......Page 43
Seeing the world through the eyes of others:
The third function......Page 45
Invoking the assumptions of normalcy: The
fourth function......Page 49
Gauging time and timing: The fifth function......Page 53
Computing behavior: The sixth function......Page 54
Beginning to understand autism......Page 57
3.
Exploring the Experience
of Autism......Page 63
What is it like to be autistic?......Page 64
Becoming autism-friendly: Making a social
rehearsal video......Page 68
Emotions and mental health......Page 71
The circle of light......Page 73
Two-dimensional perception......Page 75
Autistic savants......Page 76
Forget normal expectations......Page 79
4.
Three Keys to Communicating
with Autistic People......Page 81
The story of Jimmy and me......Page 82
Understanding the story of Jimmy and me: The
three keys......Page 83
If you were autistic, how would you want
people to communicate with you?......Page 89
5.
How We Are All Autistic
to One Extent or Another......Page 95
Normalcy and repetitive behaviors......Page 96
Normalcy as the generalization of autism......Page 97
Social institutions......Page 98
Mechanization......Page 101
Bureaucracy......Page 102
Slight autism in the normal world......Page 103
Increasing the circle of light......Page 107
6.The Practical Side of
Undertanding Autism:

Tips for Teaching and Interacting
with Autistic People......Page 109
Teaching and interacting with severely autistic
people......Page 110
Teaching and interacting with high-functioning
autistic people......Page 120
Teaching and interacting with slightly autistic
people......Page 124
Conclusion......Page 129
Index......Page 133