The Scottish Government

How ASD affects a person's communication

• Non-verbal
• Limited communication
• Absence of desire to communicate
• Echolalia and repetitive speech
• Confined to expression of needs only
• Factual comments irrelevant to conversation
• Talking incessantly regardless of response
• Better expressive language than receptive language - not understanding language

Strategies

• Use clear, unambiguous language
• Use short sentences separating out different ideas e.g. Ask your sister if she wants a cup of tea and then come and tell me what she said
• Limit non-verbal communication
• Do not use metaphors or colloquial speech
• Sarcasm and irony are confusing
• Remove uncertainty, use visual tools like a visual diary
• Tell the person who you are, what you can and can't do, how long you will be with them, how they can contact you and when

How ASD affects a person's social interaction

• Inability to interact with peers
• Lack of desire to interact
• Doesn't understand social cues
• Socially inappropriate behaviour
• Difficulty in understanding and expressing feelings
• Emotionally inappropriate behaviour
• Poor ability to make and maintain friendships

Strategies

• Take time to find out what is important to person and how they want to interact
• Use person's own interests
• Focus on one thing at a time
• Don't raise expectations that cannot be fulfilled as this will create anxiety
• Explain the 'rules'
• Explain how they apply in each situation

How autism affects a person's imagination

• Difficulty in understanding that other people may see things from a different viewpoint
• Repetitive re-enacting of role often copied without understanding purpose behind actions
• Difficulty in generalising concepts - literality in understanding spoken language
• Difficulty in understanding abstract concepts - cause and consequence

Strategies

• Do not assume the person knows what you intend to do next
• Don't take for granted they know the next step in a sequence of events
• Limiting choice
• Role play situations before they occur
• Use photos or video to help understand sequence of events
• Support the person each time they encounter a change

Other factors

• Ritualistic behaviour
• Overlapping conditions e.g. ADHD, Tourettes, Mental Illness
• Sensory issues - hypersensitivity to noise, touch, smell - environment

Positives

• Good visual skills
• Excellent factual memory
• Precision and accuracy
• Attention to detail
• Adherence to 'rules'
• Strong sense of 'right' and 'wrong'

How might all of this make advocacy difficult?

• Wide diversity of ability - a spectrum disorder
• Difficulty in understanding different view points and abstract concepts - and therefore options, cause and consequence
• Difficulty in organising and planning ahead
• Resistance to change - irrational fears, high anxiety, ritualistic behaviour
• Difficulty in forming relationships
• Difficulty in communication and understanding e.g. linking separate sentences to make meaningful statements

Issues to consider

• Type of advocacy needed
• Advocacy approach: structured, clear, consistent
• Communication and non-instructed advocacy
• Mental capacity and decision making legislation
• Choice and introducing changes