Communication involves more than just speech. Non-verbal communication may be just as important as what we actually say. This interesting article from The Autism Support Network addresses this topic:
The third step of communication: think with your eyes
Michelle Garcia Winner
….As surprising as it may seem, some students (and adults) with social thinking challenges are not aware that people watch other people’s eyes to gain clues about what they may be looking at and thus, thinking about. In the developmental literature this is called “establishing joint attention” and it is a developmental milestone for most 9-12 month old neurotypical babies. So is it possible for a 17-year-old class valedictorian or a 40-year-old bright, neurotypical-looking business man to lack this fine-tuned skill? Actually, the answer is yes! And, it’s more common than you may guess. In our clinic work I find many of our “higher level” students and adults on the autism spectrum clueless about the physical nuances involved in face-to-face social interaction. In many cases, no one has ever told them they can use their eyes to get people’s attention or track when other people are paying attention to them.
