A Child Friendly Explanation of Autism

I work with kids with autism, and describing what I do on a day to day basis can be tough to explain to people. I usually end up listing the diagnostic criteria and just saying that we work on correcting those deficits and excesses. The hardest thing, though, is trying to explain to other kids what I do, because launching into an explanation of the DSM-IV criteria won't get either of us anywhere in our quest for understanding. (And anyone who has ever encountered an inquisitive child knows that you won't be going anywhere until you've explained it to their satisfaction!)

So when I got an e-mail from a family member I'd recently visited asking how to explain autism and my job to her daughter, this is what I came up with:

Autism is such a spectrum disorder that I generally just say that I work with kids who need extra help learning stuff - some of them need help learning how to talk, some of them need help learning how to play with toys, and some of them need help learning how to make friends and fit in at school. (The trick is to explain it so that they don't think they have autism if they are having trouble with kids at school). I also usually explain that those things are extra hard for kids with autism, so a lot of times they get really mad at me for making them work so hard, and then sometimes have temper tantrums or yell or throw things at me. Part of my job as their teacher is to help them learn how to do those things so that it won't be hard anymore, but I also have to help them learn how to use their words and calm down when they are upset. So sometimes my job is really hard because kids are angry and don't want to work, but sometimes it's really fun because I get to go to the playground and hang out and play with toys.

That obviously is a super duper simplified explanation, but it's the most comprehensive yet simple definition that I have come up with so far. So if you ever have the need to explain to a child what autism is or what someone who works with them does, feel free to use my definition (and let me know if you can improve it in any way!)