Mirroring Skills
“My students with autism don’t seem to mirror what others are doing,” commented a teacher. “I wonder why it is that individuals with autism often do not notice what is happening around them and follow those social cues?
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SOME IDEAS:. To one degree or another, individuals with autism fail to automatically pick up on social cues and mirror what folks around them are doing. Many factors can stand in the way of a person following the lead of other individuals in a group setting. Because one key element in successful social interaction is mirroring, we need to be patient detectives, collecting clues to be able to pinpoint the problem.
1. Because a deficit in social interaction is one of the characteristics inherent in autism, it is possible that our friends simply do not notice what other people are doing around them.
2. It is possible that some individuals with autism do notice what their peers are doing, but they do not know how to respond or they do not know how to initiate and sequence an appropriate response.
3. Many individuals with autism resist changes in routine, so it might be that they simply do not want to try something new.
4. Because some individuals with autism have a narrow and rigid repertoire of interests, it may be that they do not care what other people do. They may be engrossed in their own specific interests.
5. Sometimes a well-meaning teacher or family member or friend will jump into the situation quickly and guide the person into following the social cues. For example, in one classroom, when the teacher said, “Everyone come over for reading group,” the teaching assistant immediately said, “Susan, stand now and walk to the reading table.” It is actually possible that “Susan” would have followed her fellow students to the table on her own, but she was never given an opportunity to do so.
6. Well-meaning friends also tend to give too many verbal instructions. Some individuals with autism have deficits in processing verbal language, so they must “re-start” the process every time someone repeats an instruction. In this case, we could all help our friends with autism by sitting quietly and giving them a chance to process the verbal instruction, to notice how their peers are responding, and to formulate a response on their own.
NOTE TO LISTENERS AND READERS: I am Cathy Knoll, a board certified music therapist and long-time friend of many folks with autism. At FAQautism.com we are committed to providing free, practical, everyday tips for making life better for people with autism. You can click on a button to send me an email with your thoughts or challenging situations or innovative solutions. Check out our website for a wealth of ideas and a glimpse into the world of autism. www.FAQautism.com
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