Justin has been working with a behavioral therapist for a couple of weeks now. Things are going well - at least by the standards of the therapy. He is doing the things he needs to do. He is practicing skills that he needs to develop. His therapist is helping him do things that are not comfortable, but are useful for him to know.

As someone on the autism spectrum, some social interactions are challenging for Justin. He tends to not make eye contact. He doesn’t always engage in reciprocal conversation. He won’t always answer questions. 

He also lacks the social filter that most of us pick up without even meaning to. That means that Justin can’t really “read the room.” It can be frustrating for him (and us) because it means he can struggle to communicate in a way that makes sense to people. He can come off as dismissive, even condescending or mean. He’s not. He is a really sweet child. He just says what he feels and what he sees. And that can be uncomfortable.

This week, his therapist was asking him questions about a topic that she had chosen to talk about. After a couple of questions, Justin got agitated. “Why are you asking so many questions about this?” he asked.

Therapist: I’m not asking that many. Just a few. I want to see how much you know about this.