How do you explain autism to a child?

[Sunny Love]

To my students at the time, aged no older than 5 years, I explained it along the lines of
'Everybody is born unique,
and we all look unique & think unique thoughts.
We just need to learn how to understand and help each other better'.

Being a positive role model, that demonstrates compassion & assistance to those with additional needs, is a great gift to your own normal-functioning child.
Good luck xx

[Moi]

Thanks so much for the link Santosha I'll see if I can get a couple of the books and the resources online look good.

And thanks Netix and sunny09. I have tried to explain why he hits and that he's not being naughty (because of course I've taught my DD that hitting people is not OK)

[chody47]

When I've sometimes tried to explain to some mainstream kids about some of the kids' needs in my special class that I teach I'll be fairly upfront and say something along the lines of 'x has autism, this means they have trouble understanding the rules of a game/making friends ect (whatever is appropriate to the current situation), you can help him by......'. Admittedly this is often with older kids, but it seems to work well.

[Moi]

chody47 - What sorts of things do you suggest that they can help a child with autism?

[chody47]

chody47 - What sorts of things do you suggest that they can help a child with autism?

I guess it really depends on the person and how severe their autism is. In the example above, the student really wanted to be involved in a game other kids were playing but didn't have the skills to ask to enter the game or to know the rules just by observing. He needed the other kids to help by inviting him to play and by being very specific with the rules (and also making sure they stuck to them, as any bending of the rules would not be understood by this child).

I guess it's a matter of helping kids to understand why a person with autism might be acting in a certain way and then for them to be able to recognise this and help their need. Eg maybe they are acting upset and angry because they are stressed about an unexpected event, so being able to help them calm down and explain what will be happening can help....I guess it all depends on the ages of the kids involved though.

[Freya]

I personally would try not to use the word 'naughty', it has really negative connotations especially when they arent being 'naughty' in the true sense of the word.

Ive been trying to figure out how to deal with this myself, since Ds2 (who has autism) is starting school next year which Im sure will bring up similar questions from his classmates and also because DS1 (6.5) has started noticing things. I think that explaining that everyone is unique and sometimes people's brains work differently to others, especially in the case of people with autism, is a good start. Maybe explain that sometimes this means there are things like noises or touches that make them sad and you can do xyz to help them out and make them feel better. The social cue/emotional understanding issues would probably be good to mention as well. Maybe say that sometimes that people with autism dont understand facial expressions or things people say when they are feeling happy/sad/angry etc and that its ok if they dont understand, it doesnt mean they dont care. We tell our Ds1 that Ds2 sometimes needs to have his personal space respected alot more than other people, that when he is scared or angry or happy it takes him longer to process it and touching him or entering his personal space makes him scared; and that when he is scared sometimes he acts out by hitting or making loud noises.

You will be surprised at just how accepting, patient and accommodating kids can be. Much more so than adults I feel.