How Would A Child with Autism Read this Common Core Aligned Test Question?
Can a lawnmower “speak to you”?
I’ve heard from mothers of children with autism and read in accounts from autistic adults such asTemple Grandin that these children (and adults) have difficulty in thinking abstractly. Grandin has written about how she thinks visually when presented with a concept. From My Mind is a Web Browser: How People With Autism Think:
Also, I understand concepts visually. For example, all objects classified as keys will open locks. I realize that the word “key” can also be used metaphorically, when we say, “the key to success is positive thinking.” When I think about that phrase, I see Norman Vincent Peale’s book, The Power of Positive Thinking, and I see myself back at my aunt’s ranch reading it. I then see a stage where a person is getting an award and I see a large cardboard key. Even in this situation, the key still unlocks the door to success. The ability to form categories is the beginning of the ability to form concepts. Keys in their physical form open physical locks but abstract keys can open many things, such as a scientific discovery or career success.
She explains her decision making process when confronted with a situation:
I see the decision-making process in my mind in a way most people do not. When I tried to explain this to a person who thinks in language, he just didn’t get it.How my decision-making works is most clearly seen in an emergency.On a bright, sunny day, I was driving to the airport when an elk ran into the highway just ahead of my car. I had only three or four seconds to react. During those few seconds, I saw images of my choices. The first image was of a car rear ending me. This is what would have happened if I had made the instinctive panic response and slammed on the brakes. The second image was of an elk smashing through myHow Would A Child with Autism Read this Common Core Aligned Test Question? | Missouri Education Watchdog: