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2012-04-07

Temple Grandin (on TV)

Always, always emphasizing that Autism is a big spectrum. 


So hear that and when looking at one child, or your child, investigate carefully if he or she presents characteristic A or B, which Temple Grandin might also have mentioned (but never said everyone does...). For example, she mentions that noise can hurt ears and light can hurt eyes. Can. She does not say all people have the same issues. Don't (over)generalize. Try or ask for help investigating the child's behavior as it may give hints as to if something bothers. Some behaviors that may appear as escape or avoidance of an aversive stimulus x may in fact have other functions, such as attaining stimulus y or even avoiding, but stimulus z, not x. For the untrained eyes it may be very difficult to see and behavior analysis offers strategies to objectively find out what generates the problem. And even better, to overcome the problem! Some difficulties can be minimized and even eliminated if well analyzed and carefully targeted. Bonuses usually follow: desired behaviors.