Teaching Children with Autism to Think, Not Just to Do
Teaching Children with Autism to Think, Not Just to Do Reframing Autism Intervention Beyond Mechanical Activities of Daily Living Dr. Santosh Kondekar Developmental Pediatrician www.autismdoctor.in Abstract Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is commonly associated with deficits in communication, social interaction, sensory processing, behavioural flexibility, and executive functioning. However, modern intervention systems frequently overemphasise motor performance and repetitive Activities of Daily Living (ADL), often overlooking the more fundamental processes of perception, comprehension, cognitive processing, planning, and judgment. This article proposes that autism is not primarily a motor deficit disorder and therefore intervention should not predominantly revolve around mechanical motor exercises. Instead, therapy should prioritise Activities of Daily Logical Thinking (True ADL), which include observation, understanding, reasoning, prediction, emotional interpretation, pla...