Order and Autism
“Order?” you say. “Why on earth order?” Well, actually there’s a very good reason for it. People on the spectrum LOVE order. When I met Kevin’s dad he explained it to me this way “If Kevin got a new bed and he woke up in the morning on the first morning and got out of bed on the left side, forever after sleeping in that bed he would ALWAYS get out the same way.”
And I have seen this and know it to be true. Kevin likes to do the same thing in the same way and there is nothing that will dissuade him from that. The first time we were leaving the house together to go out, I grabbed the keys and went to the car…..as I would naturally do. Kevin looked round the house and found things he thought MUST be done before he got to the car. And I waited seven long minutes while he did them!
This is not only the case with Kevin. And I know it’s not just people on the spectrum that enjoy order in their lives, but it IS true that ALL people on the spectrum I know of like order. Now it’s not in every way, just that they do love it. And the processes they do they do exactly the same every time.
One of the things Johnathan loved and I have seen it with all the children on the spectrum is lining things up. The very first time we went to a shoe shop, he took the shoes that were out and lined them up on the stools children were meant to sit on. It made me laugh but it also embarrassed me because I couldn’t stay and clear them all away because he would have not coped and I would have had meltdowns of epic proportions and quite frankly I just didn’t want to deal with that. So I apologised and they told me not to worry because they often see it.
When Johnathan was being tested to see if he really was on the spectrum, he had 4 little cars to play with and had lined them up nicely. I clocked it and thought “great. He’s showing them he is like what I said.” I wanted to be excited because he had but I knew he was going to do it if he had anything to line up. This is normality for children on the spectrum and don’t you DARE to MOVE the line of toys or whatever it is they find. Because THAT is where they want it.
And one of the parts of order Johnathan loves is things STAYING flat when he puts it straight. Or even pieces of a car or race track or whatever and PUZZLES especially. In fact, it enraged him SO MUCH and EVERY time and HATED puzzles so badly, I decided that I wasn’t going to force him to do them. Now that he can very slightly control himself, I believe he does them at school but not happily.
So I hope I have began to help you understand an essential part of autism. Order and processes are and have to be done the same every time. Not all the same processes, but the order is paramount.