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Thursday, March 25, 2010

My Little Literalist

Like most Asperger's kids, Sam is very literal, and it's something I forget about from time to time. While I generally remember to be specific, I forget that what comes out of my mouth and what I mean are sometimes two very different things.

Case in point: Today we were in the car, and I glanced back to see Sam take a swig of root beer. I didn't buy him any root beer today, so what I was wondering is where he got the bottle of root beer. Our conversation went like this:

Me: Sam, what are you drinking?

Sam: Root beer.

Me: From where?

Sam: I don't know where we bought it.

Me: No! I mean, where did you find that bottle of root beer?

Sam: Off the floor in the back seat here, Mom.

If I had just asked him where he found the bottle in the first place, I wouldn't have gotten so frustrated when he didn't read my mind and answer the way I wanted him to answer!

This is the case with so many kids with Asperger's Syndrome. They can't insinuate what you mean when you aren't explicitly clear with your meaning. My daughter probably would have been able to realize that I knew what kind of soda it was and that I just wanted to know where she got it, but Sam couldn't.

Check out this article to learn more about just how literal kids with Asperger's Syndrome are:

Do you ever wonder why your brilliant child with Asperger's Syndrome just doesn't understand a word you say? Maybe you aren't speaking his language... 

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