I have a DS with ASD. He is 10 yo. Recently he has picked up on the word sex. We have explained to him what sex is in the past in the usual scientific way and he has had sex education at school. He's never made much reference to it in the past but just lately its started to creep into his vocabulary. The problem is, like lots of words in his vocabulary he is using it inappropriately. Normally the funny little ways he gets words mixed up is quite endearing and we gently try to steer him in the right direction, however this feels like it could be taken out of context and I'm not sure how to help him understand.
So, as an example, this evening I was putting his DS2 to bed and we were chatting. DS1 came in and said "Is this a Mother and Son thing or is it all about sex?" I pointed out that this wasn't an appropriate use of the word because children are not involved in sex and people do not have sex within their own families. He replied "Ok sorry Mum, its just that I thought he was wanting to make a sex"
I know it sounds awful but this confused use of language is very typical of him. He has Auditory Processing Disorder with function in some areas falling below the 1st gentile so his grasp of vocabulary and use of language is often quite jumbled. However this really worries me that people will misunderstand him and think he's a dangerous child or that something odd has happened to him.
I should just add that he's not shown any sexual behaviours at all, he's quite young for his age and not at all streetwise.
Has anyone else with SEN kids had similar misunderstandings and if so how have they dealt with it?