An Ordinary Mom's Musings

I’ve been working my way through the book “Story Genius” by Lisa Cron. It’s a book on how to write a story using brain science. I’m finding it extremely helpful, even for non-fiction. What I didn’t expect was to have it give me more insight into the world of Autism and how it will interact with surprise and avoidance.

Here is the section that stopped me in my tracks.

“Suprise instantly commands our attention precisely because it defies our expectations. Once engaged, we’re wired to immediately start figuring out what’s actually going on, the better to gauge whether we’re about to get whacked or kissed. This “sit up and take notice” response to surprise is a survival mechanism; without it, we’d blithely ignore every warning sign ever thrown at us. because we’d have no idea that anything out of the ordinary was going on. Instead, surprise knocks us out of our dependable routine and forces us to consider as yet unexplored realities. . . The unexpected is surprising because it (1) challenges what we thought was going to happen and (2) puts a have-to-deal-with-it-now crimp in our well-laid plans, even if those plans. . .” (38)

If this isn’t one of the best definitions as to why people who experience Autism have a hard time with change, I don’t know what is. We all have it wired into our brains. Those who experience Autism simply have a much better connection in their wiring for this particular junction.

We don’t like being knocked out of what we know, being forced to confront the unexpected. But we find ourselves there again and again. Those of us without Autism learn that sometimes when we interact with a new experience, it can turn out to be pleasurable. Those with Autism, often focus on the times it wasn’t.

Sensory Processing Disorder

Often this is due to sensory processing issues. Having sensory processing issues mean that the person doesn’t process things with their senses the same way that you and I do. Something that feels soft and wonderful to us may feel unbearably scratchy to them. A light that has a slight buzz to it, they may process at the same level as the professor who is speaking to them. Causing them to have a hard time distinguishing between the two.

For my son, it often means wanting to eat the same things over and over. One- because he knows he loves those foods, and they bring him pleasure. Two- these foods are trusted. He doesn’t have to worry about strange textures, smells or taste. Eating something that is unknown is a risk, he is often not willing to take.

Another area that this manifests itself in for our son is. . . I was going to add another one, but as I sat here thinking, my thoughts kept bringing up another, and another. It’s pretty safe to say that the two reasons given above apply to pretty much any scenario. He knows what he loves and he trusts that. Anything else is a risk and could make him unhappy, so his thinking is why interact with something that might make me unhappy? When you put it like that, it sounds very reasonable. It is. Until you are out of the food that is on the approved list.