communication and relationships: is this a bad title for a dating guide or a post on Autism? You decide.

ever been at a dinner/party/social gathering and realize you have absolutely NOTHING to add to the conversation you have somehow walked into?

You feel trapped, you feel silly... perhaps you reach for a drink, perhaps you try to tiptoe away without being noticed or perhaps you just run to the fire escape (yes, i live in a city)

ever wonder what it would be like if you had no langauge abilities at all? How does that effect your social development as you grow.

here's an interesting look at just that http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5503688&ps=rs

people with Autism not only have " problems understanding an action like reaching for a peanut," he says, "but also a metaphor like reaching for the stars."

How does language play a role in our everyday social interactions? it might be an interesting excercise to spend tomorrow taking everything people say to you literally and devoid of emotional context. how much harder it would be to communicate! How much more effort would need to be exerted and how frustrating it might become!

Detials, Social Skills, And Einstein

I know, I know, we owe you updates. But this past month has been busy with exciting new things for adaptive arts. Before i get to all that, I wanted to share an article I came across that shares insight into the autistic mind.

I was particularly struck by this quote, “The autistic person’s world is a world of detail. In fact, scientific research shows the normal mind tends to drop out detail, and that can be very, very disastrous..."

For some reason, all i could think of were how many game shows are based on the "normal" minds ability or inability to retain facts? (see, i took a totally important thought and brought it down to modern reality TV. I have failed you all)

read the whole article here though: http://www.herald-mail.com/?cmd=displaystory&story_id=245950&format=html&autoreload=true