Don't Read "Amelia Bedelia" to an Autistic Child

       I learned something about autistic spectrum children because of the Tony-honored new play The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time.  These children often have gaps in their ability to process figurative language.  The play apparently beautifully illustrates and demonstrates how the world is experienced by someone autistic.  For example, a woman onstage speaking of "the apple of my eye" has a piece of fruit on her face.  The image is taken literally.

       It made me recall the one day I was asked to try working on reading with an autistic student while I was still tutoring reading.  We had a very noisy, distracting environment that day, and I used a poetry book as I recall,  probably full of imagery and metaphors.  My student got up and walked out of the library; I had to follow him, and our only real communication was kicking a ball back and forth before I futiley returned him to his class room.  I had no training or understanding to begin to work with an autistic child and we had actually been instructed at the outset of my volunteering not to accept a special ed. student.

       The Curious Incident is one of the brightest lights of the current Broadway season and won Best Play and four other awards at the Tonys last Sunday.