Conversations – Delivery vs. Intent

A conversation to most is simply and interaction between two or more people, where one exchanges either casual or formal information.

It seems simple when you put it like that. However, an individual with Autism Spectrum Disorder can find conversations not only difficult but completely debilitating.

Conversations are a challenge for individuals on the spectrum and those engaging with them.

• Delivery versus intent is a key element of understanding the complexity of conversations.
• How you are truly thinking/feeling about a situation is often how it will be delivered, even where you attempt to control it.
• Judgment will most often result in shutdown, rebuttal, or them removing themselves from the situation.
• The manual process that is undertaken in order to converse, where the individual has a history of being made to think that the way they think and interact is strange or not acceptable.
• Every interaction has some form of value.
• Reciprocal conversations come with challenges (e.g., what and when to say something, how to say it, analysis of what was said, requirement of Theory of Mind).
• Boundaries and communication.

Length: 18:52