100 Results in Socialising

‘Fitting in’ with others is a two-way effort

As autistic people, we’re often told we need to “make more of an effort” with others. That “effort” is often a synonym for conformity. Conformity means exhibiting less autistic traits. It means masking and pushing ourselves past our limits so that other people feel comfortable. This is not healthy, realistic or sustainable! Always have in… Join The Curly Hair Project Community Today This article and our podcasts are available only to members o…

4 Conversation techniques to add to your social script

Many autistic people create for themselves a ‘social script’ to help them know how to interact in social situations. A social script is a guide for planning what to do and say inside a social setting. The Girl With The Curly Hair uses a social script whenever she meets up with her friends. Specifically, she… Join The Curly Hair Project Community Today This article and our podcasts are available only to members of our community. If you would like to continue to read…

10 Ways to psyche yourself up for a social event

Like many autistic people, I don’t socialise much. So when my friend recently asked to meet, I panicked! I really like her and I am interested in her, but I just get very anxious about socialising. I thought to myself, what strategies can I use to manage this situation so that I am able to… Join The Curly Hair Project Community Today This article and our podcasts are available only to members of our community. If you would like to continue to read this article, along with rec…

“What are you doing at break time?”

Ambiguity can be a problem for autistic people. The following scenario may give you an insight into an autistic person’s thoughts whenever a question that they find ambiguous is asked: “What are you doing at break time?” These are the words that cause the look of sheer panic on The Girl With The Curly Hair’s… Join The Curly Hair Project Community Today This article and our podcasts are available only to members of our community. If you would like to c…

6 Reasons autistic people struggle with verbal interaction

Many autistic people struggle with having a verbal interaction. Here are 6 reasons why this might be: Reason 1: Background noise and distractions Autistic people often find it difficult to filter sounds. This means that any background noise will become merged with what they are trying to hear and therefore make understanding speech harder for… Join The Curly Hair Project Community Today This article and our podcasts are available only to members of our community. If you w…

Why is social interaction difficult for autistic people?

The way an autistic person experiences social interaction is essentially the result of the other three social difficulties that they have, which are: communication differences, weak social imagination and unusually intense interests…. Join The Curly Hair Project Community Today This article and our podcasts are available only to members of our community. If you would like to continue to read this article, along with receiving access to our exclusive animations, pod…

10 of the most important social skills

Social skills are the skills we use to communicate and interact with others. When I think about social skills what immediately comes to mind are things such as being able to make eye contact, know when and how to say “hello” and make small talk. However, I think that there are other far more helpful… Join The Curly Hair Project Community Today This article and our podcasts are available only to members of our community. If you would like to continue to read this arti…

How do we react to people who are on their own?

I've been watching some of my animations and something that stands out at me in pretty much every film is: how other people respond to The Girl With The Curly Hair when she is on her own. Even though I wrote the scripts, I don't fully appreciate every single learning point captured in a film. In fact, each time I watch one of the animations, I see a different angle or a new perspective. Today I've been noticing the reoccurring theme that The Girl With The Curly Hair is so often on her own - or so often wanting to be on her own - and the different reactions people have to her. Let's have a look at some specific examples:

What is it like to be a literal thinker?

Literal thinkers interpret what others say based on the precise or factual meaning of the words used, as opposed to the implied or metaphoric meaning. People on the autism spectrum are often associated with having literal thinking. Some neurotypical people also have literal thinking. Literal thinking has nothing to do with intelligence. One great struggle that comes from having literal thinking is that it can be incredibly difficult to interact with others. Communication becomes very confusing.

How to improve your listening skills

Listening is a very important component of good communication. Many people consider themselves to be "good listeners"... but are they really?! Just because you are an introverted or a quiet person for example, it does not automatically make you good at listening. Communication is very difficult for autistic people and I have noticed that a lot of autism literature focuses on helping autistic people to improve their understanding and use of body language, tone of voice and eye contact. Listening skills are often overlooked. In this article I will give you some ideas on how to improve your listening skills. These suggestions are also going to be useful to neurotypical people.  We should always remember that communication between neurotypical and autistic people can be especially hard. Misunderstandings are common. Therefore, it's even more vital for both neurotypical and autistic people to work on improving their listening skills, so as to be able to communicate more effectively with each other.