Struggling to understand your autistic loved one?
You’re not alone! When you have a neurotypical (non-autistic) brain, it can be difficult to understand how autistic people think, process information, and communicate.
As autistic people, we face the same struggles when trying to understand our neurotypical counterparts.
This is known as the ‘Double Empathy Problem’. It leads to frequent misunderstandings, hurt feelings, and frustration for people of both neurotypes.
Are you unintentionally traumatizing the autistic person in your life?
One of the first things I address in my book, “What Did I Do Wrong?” is trauma.
This is because having your intentions, facial expressions, actions, and even inactions interpreted incorrectly (and then being punished for those incorrect interpretations) causes high levels of sustained distress that can develop into post-traumatic stress disorder.
I titled the book, “What Did I Do Wrong?” because it’s a question that repeated itself desperately in my mind each time my family, teachers, neighbours, babysitters, etc., would suddenly descend on me with angry faces and loud accusations.
I could never connect my words or behaviour to their emotional reactions, so my young mind concluded that people were unpredictable and unsafe.
The autistic person in your life may have a similar view of the world because they also cannot connect their words or behaviour to your strong emotional response.
In other words, they don’t know what they’ve done wrong – even if it’s something you would know automatically.
Communicate more effectively with your autistic loved one
“What Did I Do Wrong?” guides you through the most common communication misunderstandings that occur between autistic and non-autistic people. Each section is only one page long, and it explains the autistic trait, the common misinterpretations of that autistic trait, and what’s really happening for the autistic person.
This guide will give you answers to frequently asked questions about autistic traits, including:
- Asking questions
- Forgetting events
- Making excuses
- Interrupting
- Overdoing school or work projects
- Not recognizing faces
- Breathing differently
- Not making friends
- Being unable to locate objects
- Ignoring household chores
Author Jaime A. Heidel
and so many more!
Toward the end of this guide, I’ll show you how to communicate your feelings to your autistic loved one without triggering a trauma response through a simple, step-by-step formula.
You and your autistic loved one deserve to be heard, appreciated, and understood by each other.
“What Did I Do Wrong?” will open your eyes to the hidden reasons behind your frequent miscommunications, while giving you the tools you need to reduce misunderstandings and form a healthier, more harmonious connection with one another.
See the book on Amazon UK: What Did I Do Wrong?
See the book on Amazon US: What Did I Do Wrong?
