Ahhh... the sweet sounds of scripting.
Scripting is so common with children on the spectrum and with big pants it is non stop! When he first started talking it was all scripting. Of course we did not realize it at the time, but it didn't take too long to figure it out. The same phrase over and over. It doesn't take long to do the math and carry the 1 there!
Some of the more popular ones include....
"Do you see a clue?"
"How do you tickle my feet?"
"Squirrel jokes" (drag out the /r/ in squirrel)
"How do you ride a bike?"
"Magenta's coming over"
"Elmo has mail"
The ones that almost seem functional...
"Feliz Navidad, Merry Christmas everyone!" (only when it snows and in Minnesota this can be in May!)
"Goodbye Grandma" (only said when leaving school and witnessing everyone saying goodbye)
Many speech pathologists and other therapists have said that we shouldn't engage with this type of communication. It was explained that if we respond it encourages communication that isn't truly conversational and that it may just reinforce more scripting in place of more functional language. Yah, yah, yah, I get it, but what if that is the only reciprocal language we receive outside of,"more cereal please" or "want Bob the Builder"?
Human nature and motherhood thrive on the back and forth nature of conversation. If this is the only way I can get my son to talk to me in a reciprocal manner then you are damn right I am going to say, "A clue? Where did you see a clue?" or "Magenta's coming over. That will be fun." I know he isn't going to answer back in a way that most would consider typical, but as a mother I want some back and forth. I don't care what it is. This is where my heart outwits logic. I know that it is scripting, but a mom can dream, right?
Oh God in Heaven, don't encourage it too much. I have one who demands that we repeat all her scripting. And we've obliged for too long to stop it without a major struggle. We're biding our time, hoping it'll stop. (It won't.) Don't do anything you're not willing to do forever. You know these people..
ReplyDeleteUm, I know more "normal" adults that talk in movie quotes than I can count. So why weren't they stopped from 'scripting' as kids?! I have totally been there, and I agree that sometimes you just want to have the interaction. Plus maybe scripting engages a connection in their brain that will eventually lead to more conversation. I know I have seen it with my brother and our kids. These ASD kids have such capacity to memorize shows that they can't help but recall things, and if they are putting them in places where they actually belong I really think that is a good form of communication. (Sure the speech therapist is going to want to see regular conversation, but it can't all be normal when WE think it should be.)
ReplyDelete**Side note... I kinda miss Blue's Clues ;)