Abifae - Ciao Babies!

abifae

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:idunno

I don't mind the butterfly part lol. Death in a cocoon and then you rebirth and flit around eating poo and pollen :D It's pretty cool. Also, butterflies have close ties to the Fae.
 

Denim Deb

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So Abi, does this mean that you flit around and eat poo and pollen? :sick
 

abifae

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maybe! or maybe i'm still in the cocoon!!!! or maybe i'm riding the butterfly!
 

abifae

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Calling all my autie whisperers!!!!

1. what are the main things auties miss in trying to READ non verbal communication?

2. what are the main things that auties miss in trying to USE non verbal communication?
 

R-Lawrence

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abifae said:
Calling all my autie whisperers!!!!

1. what are the main things auties miss in trying to READ non verbal communication?

2. what are the main things that auties miss in trying to USE non verbal communication?
Not sure I qualify because all of this is still so new but ... my Teen constantly misreads me. He thinks a deep sigh usually means I'm getting ready to blow my top but about half the time, it's just that I need a deep breath. He doesn't get that ALL the clues need to be read: breathing, facial expression, body posture, etc.

As far as USING cues, he's a movie fiend, so a lot of his facial expressions and phrase choices are over the top. Not sure how to work with that. So far, I haven't said anything to him about it.

Your book is a great idea. Will you e-publish it or query "real" publishers? Wondering because I used to own a publishing company, so if you need an editor for final draft before self-publishing as an e-book, give me a holler.
 

abifae

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I'll take you up on that. :D

And thank you. Find ALL the klews. And know that tv/movies exaggerate expressions? Or is it the mimicking that puts it over the top?
 

Henrietta23

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abifae said:
Calling all my autie whisperers!!!!

1. what are the main things auties miss in trying to READ non verbal communication?

2. what are the main things that auties miss in trying to USE non verbal communication?
Not sure I qualify... I'm just learning myself working with my kiddos. I'm still in the stage of what am I missing reading my students!!
My kiddos are all so different of course. L. is a junior, just turned 18. He is utterly incapable of reading non verbal communication. He is completely literal in everything. My supervisor is trying to teach him idioms and he just can't learn them. Doesn't even seem to want to. He can't see the point in them. Which isn't nonverbal, I know.... Anyway, the answer for L. is he misses EVERYTHING...
B. I can't answer right now. I have recently found that he is much more open and communicative with his one on one tutor. So what I see isn't an accurate respresentation.
C. is so so severly autistic that whatever he does pick up is difficult to assess. I suspect he takes in much more than we are able to realize. So I can't answer for him either.
N. is a 16 year old sophomore. She is really quite good at reading people but has to analyze it verbally. So if she notices something she'll bring it up over and over and over....

As for what they miss using it, I'll have to give it more thought. But again there are many far more adept at understanding than I am!
 

R-Lawrence

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It's the mimicking AND the exaggeration that are a bit much. And if what he wants to say doesn't start out with the phrase or intonation that he wants, he'll start again. There are times that it makes him stutter because he wants to get it JUST right.
 

abifae

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Hen - someone new catches tons of great stuff....

As to N... Hah. I do that!!

I go over things OVER and OVER and OVER until I completely understand it. I have to analyze it via animalistic behavior and anthropological social requirements, etc etc. Ask Auntie. LOLOL. She rarely tells me to stuff it, though. I think I amuse her too much for her to stop me.

I am not good at idioms. Or slang. I am always so proud when I get either that I over use it. heh.

If it helps L... because it's a puzzle. It's little stories humans have figured out and the idiom is short hand for an entire concept.

I stutter. I have breathing exercises I do while talking to help.
 

Farmfresh

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Most people have a sub-conscious mental image of "self" - even auties.

Sometimes the image is not very accurate however. For example in my mind I am about 25 years old and still quite muscular, thin and athletic! Sometimes when I walk past a mirror I am kind of shocked by what I see there. :lol: I also hear myself talk and when I hear myself on a tape recording, I think "who is the hillbilly?" I know what a scary person I look like when I am mad and I have a mental image of my own happy face as well. Strong emotion clouded my mental image of my "last straw face", but my daughter pointed out that when she saw the "tell" of me biting my lips she knew she had better get moving! Now when I find myself biting my lips I KNOW I need to get control of myself and FAST.

I have spent a huge part of my life with horses and other animals. I spent many years training them and because of this I have found that I am EXTRA good at reading body signals and facial expressions. My expertise in this area has been a gift when working with people. Especially people with autism, mental or emotional problems or behavior issues.

In my humble opinion, I believe that people with Autism have problems with their mental image of "self". I don't think they can mentally picture their own face clearly as associated with various emotions. Then this often translates into a total disconnect or at least misunderstanding of other people's body and facial signals.

Correct me please if I have this wrong Abi. I am not living in that "body", so I can only try to guess at what goes on in there.

Obviously Autistic people are like all other people in that some have very low intelligence and some have extremely high. The Autistic people that I have met that seem to be the most successful in life always have enough intelligence to be able to learn, what would you call it? The Rules of Interaction? (I think of the Starfleet "Rules of Engagement" here. :lol: ) This makes dealing with "normies" a bit easier, but it is often confusing and consumes a lot of energy and time.

We try to do a lot of "teaching" in our program. I spend a lot of time trying to both explain and demonstrate facial expressions and body language to my kiddos. "Your face looks angry right now." (sometimes I demonstrate by mimicking - sometimes I show them a mirror) "Your body is showing me that you are not ready to listen to me. I can tell because your arms are crossed and your hands are making fists." We also have a lot of expression flash cards and games that we play.

Hopefully by training in this awareness at a young age it can make a big difference to these people in life.

Your opinion Abi?
 
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