Thursday, March 15, 2012

Kids with Autism Say and Do the Funniest Things!

I know I normally blog about evidence-based interventions and other serious stuff, but I thought it would be fun to share my top ten funniest things the kids with ASD in my life have said and done over the years.   I am hoping readers will share their funny stories too! Here's mine (I'm not David Letterman, so they are in no particular order):


  1. A little boy with autism was doing his math homework.  His mom said, "It says you need to write why your answer makes sense."  So... he wrote, "Because it's right."  
  2. As part of his ABA intervention program, a young boy with autism had mastered responding to greetings.  We were so proud (mostly of ourselves I think).  If I said "Hi Brian," he would say, "Hi Debbie" What a perfect response, right? Well...one day I was at the park with Brian and his mom, and a woman that he didn't know said hello to him.  Now was his time to shine and show the world what he learned during his ABA therapy.  I will preface his response by saying the woman was wearing a yellow shirt.  After she greeted him, Brian said, "Hi...yellow." What a good student.  He knew a name had to come after "Hi," but he didn't know her name.  "Yellow" seemed like the best option :)
  3. The teacher and paraprofessionals working with a high school student with autism would take turns buying him a Gatorade in the cafeteria every day.  One day, nobody had a dollar.  The student was upset.  So...instead of getting severely emotionally dysregulated like some kids with autism might do, he simply kept a careful eye on the cashier in the cafeteria.  When the perfect moment arrived (the cashier looked away and the cash drawer was open), he ran over, took ONE dollar and ONLY one dollar, ran to the vending machine, and bought himself a Gatorade :) 
  4. A boy with autism who is nonverbal was at school one day working on the computer.  The website had the big bad wolf on it, and he would act very nervous every time the wolf came out.  The teacher and paraprofessional would laugh each time that happened.  So...the boy went over to his leap frog toy that he typed on and typed, "Shut up. Scared!" (He told them!)
  5. I worked with a little boy with autism when he was four years old for a few months.  He used to call me, "Debbie with the long brown hair."  When he was about ten years old I saw him and him mom when I was waiting outside of a restaurant.  I sat down next to him and he said, "It's Debbie with the long brown hair."  I couldn't believe it!
  6. I was at a picnic at my daughters preschool with my husband and two daughters.  We were sitting with a friend of mine on the grass who has a son with autism.  My husband happens to be bald.  He does a great job of shaving his head and making it look beautifully shiny.  The little boy with autism was kind of circling my husband mesmerized by his beautiful bald head. After careful consideration, the little boy decided it would be worth it to just touch it real quick.  A quick touch and run away :)
  7. A mom of a little boy with autism I used to work with asked me if I would go observe her son in the after school program to see if he was socializing appropriately.  When I walked into the cafeteria, I saw him sitting at a table.  He soon caught sight of me.  Although I hadn't seen him in quite a while, and never saw him at his school, he knew exactly who I was and what I stood for. He literally took his hand, cupped it around his face in the hopes I wouldn't see him, and slowly turned his head :)
  8. You may have read this in a previous post, but it's too good not to share again: I was implementing discrete trial training with a little boy with ASD.  I would give him little pieces of a cookie when he responded appropriately to my requests.  After a few trials, he looked right at me and said, "Don't give me crumbs, it's not nice to do to people!"
  9. A ten year old boy with autism was opening up his Christmas presents.  He really wanted a particular video game, but hadn't yet opened it.  His last present was wrapped in a standard rectangular department store box.  He looked at his mom and said, "This better not be a shirt."
  10. Best for last...Same boy from number 9: His mom was nagging him to turn off his video game.  He looked at his dad and said, "When are you going to break up with her!"

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