Copycats
Although we don’t always encourage people to be copycats, it would sometimes be helpful if our friends with autism noticed what was happening around them and followed the lead of others. To one degree or another, many individuals with autism fail to automatically pick up on social cues and mirror what folks around them are doing. Let’s take a look at that issue.
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Many individuals with autism do not interact freely and spontaneously with other people. This lack of interaction is often interpreted as timidity, disinterest, or elitism. Failure to pick up on social cues and follow the crowd can result in a person to having few friends. It can also put a person in potential danger if, for example, they don’t follow the crowd in a fire drill or they don’t notice that everyone has stopped at the corner because of a “Do Not Walk” sign at an intersection.
Many factors can stand in the way of a person following the lead of other individuals in a group setting. Because mirroring is a key element in successful and safe social interaction, we need to be patient detectives for our friends with autism, collecting clues to be able to pinpoint the roadblocks to copycat behavior.
1. It is possible that our friends simply do not care what people around them are doing.
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 notice what other people are doing around them. 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.
Once we can pinpoint the probably cause for the lack of copycat behavior, we can develop strategies to help our friends with autism learn to notice and follow appropriate social cues and to follow the lead of people around them. We welcome your input about this concept. Please click on the comments button or send an e-mail to talk@FAQautism.com
NOTE TO READERS AND LISTENERS: 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. Feel free to send me an email with your thoughts or challenging situations or innovative solution. Send email to talk@FAQautism.com And don’t forget to check out our website for a wealth of ideas and a glimpse into the world of autism. http://FAQautism.com
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