Autistic Communication

From Amanda: Hello Beautiful Son Rise Friends and Family,

What does it feel like to be on the Autism Spectrum? Hmmm! No one really knows the answer to this question accept the Autistic person him/her self. Wouldn't it be nice to know!?

I just watched a beautiful story about Amanda Baggs. She is an Autistic woman who has many different exclusive and repetitious behaviors and doesn't use verbal communication at all. Although she doesn't use verbal communication she will type 120 words a minute and describe in detail her experiences of being autistic. She explains that her repetitious behaviors are her communications with her environment and it's her form of language. She says "the world views her failure to speak as defiant yet other people's failure to learn her language is seen as natural and acceptable".

Here at the Autism Treatment Center of America we want to learn the language by which people with Autism communicate. It is our belief that ever thing the child does has a purpose for either expressing a want or a not want; or it is a way for the child to take care of him/her self. An example of this may be when an autistic child covers their ears as a parent speaks to them; Some may think they are being oppositional and are misbehaved while our Son Rise Program views it as an opportunity to learn and listen to what the child is saying to us. Maybe they want you to speak softly or more slowly so they can process the information? When the autistic child is hitting their hands against a wall or repeatedly jumping up and down on the ground; Some may look at the child as hyper active and unable to sit still while the Son Rise Program looks at the child and asks "how we can help this child meet their sensory input needs". Maybe their body is craving pressure on his/her joints and they are communicating this by showing us with actions and not words. As the Autistic child dances back and forth to the rhythm of their own music; Some may view this as inappropriate while we at the Son Rise Program believe this is a dance often done so child can center him/her self in this universe.

When you look closely at Autism through loving, judgement free eyes, you may notice that people with Autism don't lack communication at all. They actually have an ability to communicate with the universe far more advanced than many of us can begin to comprehend. They immerse fully into their surroundings and are super present with the environment. They are communicators with the universe and we are due to learn this amazing language.

At the Autism Treatment Center of America we believe all communication is language. Let's love it, join it, and learn this wonderful language!