Philosophy of Autism Training
Untitled Document
Autism is a pervasive developmental disorder that results in impairments in social interaction, verbal and nonverbal communication and ‘unusual’ behaviour and responses to the environment.
People with autism often have difficulties to go “beyond the information given”. This means they do not always understand ‘hidden’ meaning .Stimuli are ‘literally’ interpreted by the brain. Having a ‘literal mind’ has profound consequences for the development of communication, social behaviour and for the ability to enjoy leisure time - in short all the areas that make life most meaningful to us represent major problems in their lives.
The philosophy and approach for people with autism by the ‘Opleidingscentrum Autisme Theo Peeters v.z.w. (OCA)’ can be summarized as follows :
The majority of behavioural and emotional difficulties in autism must be seen as symptoms. We must try to understand the 'autistic way of thinking' and try to experience the world as people with autism do. Only this way we will understand the causes of their difficulties. The trainings we develop are suited for professionals and parents and are based on this theory of understanding and prevention.
This is commonly called the ‘Iceberg Theory’.