For He's A Jolly Good Fellow

“I remember a game we played once.”

We’re driving in the car and Max has launched into a rare spontaneous conversation.

“We sat in a circle and passed around a package with lots of layers. When the music stopped, if you were holding the package you got to unwrap one of the layers. The last layer had a present inside and that person got to keep it!”

When Does Different Become Dysfunctional?

The behaviours that define autism are all atypical in some way, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that they’re dysfunctional.

So what’s the difference, how do you spot it and why should we care?

How To Make Choices Easier

Max has a tough time making decisions. In fact, asking him to choose makes him so anxious that it can rapidly escalate to the point of meltdown, even with apparently simple yes/no questions.

This means he often goes to great lengths to avoid having to make a choice, delaying it until there are no options left (even if it means ending up with a bad result).

And that’s the way it can be for a lot of autistic kids and adults. 

But why is decision making so stressful? And what can you do to help?