It has been some time since we have been involved in a organised support group . In the past they have proved sometime helpful , sometimes not so much .
But this one organised by the great NHS has proved to be very successful . It has involved both my son and I attending . The parents sat in a different room from the teenagers , all boys in this case . and over 12 weeks we worked through the program .
We covered very basic things . but as it turned out invaluable for an autistic young man .
The boys were given homework , a simple exercise ,they had to phone some one from the group and engage in a conversation for at least 5 minutes . They were given prompts for the call in the form of a sheet of diagrams . With things like a ball or a TV or a computer and so on . In order that if they were struggling for something to say they could reference the sheet of diagrams .
Each week they would review the homework . How it went , how long they talked ,what they talked about how did they end the conversation . Each boy had to phone someone or receive a call and they were paired with some one different every week .
Along side the phone calls they discussed such things as joining a conversation , leaving a conversation, knowing when you are not wanted in a group conversation , but most importantly they talked about having empathy for the people they were talking to . They were learning to understand the atmosphere if you like of a conversation , be it in a group or one to one .
This has proved invaluable to my son , and he has been applying what he has learnt to different scenarios as he encounters them .
What they talked about and learnt sounds so simple , and yet when interacting with other human beings , my son was struggling .
It brought be back to all the other things he has learnt over the years and how , when they seemed so obvious to me to him they were like unlocking a deep and complex puzzle .
