Working with adults with autism : using their solutions, not ours !

When supporting adults with ASD in the difficulties and problems they experience, the default strategy is to analyse ‘the problem’ and to ask questions about what went wrong. This can however be quite demanding for people... [ view full abstract ]

When supporting adults with ASD in the difficulties and problems they experience, the default strategy is to analyse ‘the problem’ and to ask questions about what went wrong. This can however be quite demanding for people with autism. Often the past consists of painful experiences they do not want to be remembered of. Some individuals even completely freeze when we want to talk about something that went wrong.
The solution focused approach offers an alternative way of working on problems. Rather than talking about the negative experiences, we start analysing the positive exceptions in order to help people with autism to become more conscious of solutions that worked in the past. This is followed by helping the adults with autism to find out how they can use those previous solutions in order to cope with their current problems. Using their own solutions shows that we have faith in their competences and this is much more effective than offering them our solutions.
This empowering way of working invites people with autism to explore their own ‘powers’ and to use them in concrete situations. It’s all about respecting and believing in the strengths and resilience of people with autism