When autism is a "gift" (Part 1) - Tiny Musings

James, aged nine years old, was studying in a mainstream school. He often used single words to express himself and was otherwise echolalic (keep repeating verbatim what others have said). He might scream loudly sometimes for no reason and loves running around. At a birthday party of a school friend, James came up with a small box of a doll as a gift and said: “Your birthday… a special doll…my mum says every girl wants…she chose it,…battery inside… You like batteries?… I do…I have 256 batteries…” And then he continued talking about the batteries for the next 5 minutes. He rarely looked at other people or picked up their facial expressions. Although physically, he looks like a normally healthy kid; everyone can realize there was something wrong while communicating and observing his behaviors. He might not have a language disorder as he can still string the sentences together in correct grammar. However, it does not mean he can express meaningful communication. This is one of many former

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• My Nguyen