Core Challenges in Autism

Bill Nason, an American clinical psychologist who has been working with autistic people for more than 30 years, has undergone his own evolution from a strict behavioral approach to humanism. In his two books under the same title «The Autism Discussion Page» he describes the difficulties that people on the spectrum have to face. Bill Nason seems to be speaking on behalf of them: what they feel, experience, see, sense while the external world is pressing them with its speed and chaos as well as while their closest people are constantly engaged in the modification of their behavior to fit social norms. In the article Bill Nason offers ways of how to help autistic individuals with their problems of seeing a big picture, weak central coherence, literal thinking and not reading between the lines. Our task is to make their endless struggle with confusing neurotypical world easier. We, those who deal with them (parents, caregivers, teachers), should clarify each single thing, verify, if they understand us, be concrete and literal. For autistics, nothing can be taken for granted. In doing so we will make their life easier so they will be able to enjoy minutes of real co-understanding.