What is it about Autism and Television?


Our daughter, Sara, has moderate autism. She has difficulty forming complete sentences to express herself, and she sometimes uses the wrong word to describe an emotion.

"Angry" always comes out "Scared." I don't think she's actually frightened when we pass by K-Mart without stopping for magic markers, but I'm fairly certain she's angry. Many people who are deep in autism-land fixate on inanimate objects (e.g. magic markers).

Sara also fixates on TV.

It started with a hideous creature known as Caillou. Yes, that cute little bald cartoon character on PBS.

My wife and I know every line of dialog ever spoken by Caillou in every episode. We know his little sister, Rosie, is terrified of clowns. We know he is afraid of the dark because of the "Scratchy monster."

I've thought about writing to the government of Quebec (where Caillou is made) and begging them to please make it stop.

We also know every verse of every Wiggles song. Australia, please take pity on us - I sometimes hear Rockabye Your Bear in my sleep.

A few years ago, we bought Sara a touchscreen computer. She hates the keyboard and mouse, but watching her with a touchscreen is like watching Liberace with a piano. Her fingers dance and slide so fast they seem to disappear.

She can navigate YouTube and pull up her favorite cartoons without typing a single letter in a search box.

I've watched her, and this is how she does it: she starts at a root video in favorites, like Caillou's Afraid of the Dark. YouTube puts suggested videos on the right, and she remembers which videos lead to which other videos. She has a road map in her head she constantly updates and refines.

I've seen Sara get a song in her head and begin to hum it in the living room - "Baby Mine" from Dumbo is one of her favorites. She will then go to her computer. Tap, tap, tap, slide, slide, slide - Tap. "Baby mine, don't you cry..."

My greatest hope is she will develop an interest in Predator movies and Scandinavian Goth music. Tap, tap, tap, slide, slide, slide - Tap. "There's something out there, Pancho. Something in the trees, and it ain't no man. We're all going to die..."

My wife, Laurie, and I will high five. It's going to be epic.

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