ABSTRACT
A typically developing child will learn to speak and understand verbal and non-verbal communication quite naturally. This chapter examines how children with autism may have difficulty with language and communication. For some children with autism, there can be a delay in processing instructions. These are areas of difficulty for many children with autism. Literal interpretation can also add to the confusion when idioms and sarcasm are used. Using non-verbal communication such as body language and gestures are just two examples and these can be particularly difficult for a child with autism to interpret, and to use. It is the communication that happens every day between peers in a classroom – social 'chit-chat', the sort of conversations that typically developing children will have naturally, but children with autism may not. Children with autism are some of the most creative and imaginative thinkers out there.
