Here is the first of my parenting tips — a fun thing to do with young children that teaches them to not be literal with language, and that wordplay can be fun.
Ocelot and I would do this when she was 2 or 3. Even though that was long before I knew anything about the spectrum, it turned out to a great exercise for teaching her that language could be used to prove a point, and that words don’t have to be taken at face value.
I would pick an old saying or proverb, such as “There’s more than one way to skin a cat.” I’d mention that this was our saying of the day, and that it did not mean a cat would have it’s skin taken off — instead, it was a saying that meant there are several ways to do anything.
We would talk a bit, at her level, about why people make up sayings like this, how it is easier to remember an absurd saying than a strictly literal one, and that no cats were harmed in the process.
On another day, we’d look at another saying. If there was something that came up in a TV show she saw, or a book we were reading, I’d pick that as our next saying.
Of course, if you have a very sensitive child, or one who is exceptionally literal, you wouldn’t use my example as the first phrase! You could pick something like “A stitch in time saves nine,” or “Don’t judge a book by its cover.” With practice, you can move to the less literal sayings.
