Is there a name for this behaviour? (Possibly ASD related?)

[Scenarionotfeeling]

My Ds expresses his emotional feelings / how he feels physically by recalling scenarios.

Eg - We once went out and it was a really cold day , he was shivery despite being wrapped up and had his stripy blanket on him in the pushchair. Whenever he is cold now he will say ‘the stripy one in the buggy’ . He once had a nasty fall and was hysterical and now if he has anything that hurts he will shout ‘I slipped on the mud’ regardless of what actually happened. One day he choked on his food and it was a really sunny day middle of summer if he ever coughs when eating he will say ‘it’s a hot sunny day’. At nursery he got told off once by his key worker who was called Jade and I could tell he felt humiliated at pick up when she explained what had happened and now 4 years later if he feels embarrassed or has done something wrong he will cry ‘jade told me not to do it again’ as if he recalls the feeling but attaches the scenario from the first time he experienced that feeling ?

Is there a name for this ? We aren’t sure how to help him move away from doing this as we understand but most others don’t as they won’t remember the scenarios he refers to .

how old?

Sorry to add he was diagnosed with ASD at 4 so I assume it’s something to do with this , but I wasn’t sure and no longer under SALT

7

No name for it, but he's mixed up the names of his emotions. You need to teach him the correct names rather than where he first learnt that emotion.

When he got bitten by the cat a year ago it was obviously a sharp feeling as twice since (once a splinter and another time he trod on a sharp toy) he has cried that ‘billy bit me!’

Sounds like he’s a gestalt language processor so using scripts of learnt language from the first scenario and linking it to a second that is similar

i’d talk to his SEN support

Yes we’ve tried to reiterate that and when he was very little we obviously talked about happy/sad/surprised etc and would draw faces and play games but it’s as if the real life scenarios are what have stuck in his mind and it’s getting a bit difficult now

Hi OP I’m no expert but do have an autistic child. You might want to google two things to see if they give you any insight. One is synthesthesia where you mix up two senses eg giving numbers a colour. And also alexythymia which I understand as not being able to identify your feelings. I don’t think he’s quite doing either of those but it’s in the same ballpark? I think it’s positive that at least he can name his feelings in a way he and you understand.

I’ve heard of this because if he wants something since he was able to speak he hasn’t said ‘can I have a drink?’ For example he would pull my hand to touch a cup and then ask me ‘what juice do you want?’ Is it all connected then because I’m getting confused and think we need to see SALT again

I just worry as when he’s at school and this happens he can get so upset as to know what he means you need to know what the scenario is he refers to and often they don’t know so he becomes frustrated and upset

Yes! It sounds like Gestalt language processing issues. Definitely consider some speech and language support.

I think speaking with a SALT who specialises in ASD and gestalt language processing would help you understand how your ds is processing language. I’m not a SALT but I would say don’t discourage him from using his scripts it’s his way of communicating but some SALT input may help.

Tell the school some of his codes, they can repeat - ‘it's a sunny day, you are hurt the same as that day’
to help him make himself understood and mitigate disregulation

My ASD son hasn’t done this but I can totally imagine it is something he might do. He is definitely a gestalt language processor. If something funny or interesting happens he won’t necessarily be able to tell me about it unless he’s heard someone else describing it and then he’ll use the exact words they said. Like once we were driving and a conker or something fell On the roof and I said “oh my goodness a conker bonked on the roof” and he always uses that exact phrase down to the very word if he talks about it. I have to be very careful not to swear in his earshot in case it becomes one of his remembered phrases.

Has school tried using PECS cards or other visual aids to help him in these situations when he gets upset? Even though he is verbal? My son finds it hard to communicate verbally when he’s feeling strong emotions and they use the feelings board / zones of regulation and he is able to point. He is good reader which helps too, if your son can read then may be able to get more specific emotions on the list than just happy/sad/angry/hurt. Although difficult to get very specific about what exactly happened :( could you make a “dictionary” for his teachers or are there so many of these scenarios that it would be impossible?

Definitely contact your local SaLT team for some support and advice, does he attend school yet?
In my area you can self refer to Paeds SaLT team for a review as he has previously been seen by them, otherwise school or health visitor can refer.
Very normal at this age/stage for gestalt language processes to do this, don’t worry about it, perhaps just make others aware when needed. 💐

Another thing he will do is accents (or attempts to!). If a particular person has told him a piece of information that he then relays to us he will do so in the accent of the person who originally told him it

My autistic DS did this. He had speech and language difficulties linked to gestalt language processing. Most of his spoken language was scripted when he was little. He called the lamppost outside our house "all dark night" for years because of something DH said once when the light came on.

He's now 10 and still uses some scripted language but it's more subtle and appropriate so you might not realise he's doing it.

He had a lot of support with his language in infant school at the special school he goes to. But also learning to read had a massive impact on his speech (weirdly, as its meant to work the other way round in NT children!).

My DS also does this too. He's actually an amazing mimic.

Could you start by typing out all the known descriptors like "Billy/cat = sharp pain" with a clip art of someone saying ouch, etc and laminate it, for a start? That would help carers/teachers to decode and you can also put "I hurt", "I'm hot" on it to help him?