Difficulty with social communication
Individuals on the autism spectrum may have difficulties with both verbal and non-verbal language and take a very literal response to what people say.

Difficulties with social interaction
Individuals on the autistic spectrum may have great difficulty interpreting other people’s emotions and feelings and are often challenged when expressing their own.

Difficulty with social imagination
Social imagination is what allows us to understand and predict other people’s behavior, to make sense of abstract ideas, and to imagine situations outside our daily routines. 

For the non-autistic child these skills evolve naturally through the normal childhood development process. It is widely agreed that individuals on the autistic spectrum do not undergo childhood development at the same harmonious rate that their non-autistic counterparts do. They may be extraordinarily developed in one particular area whilst considerably challenged in another. 

This is when a human being becomes aware of “self”; they can identify themselves as separate from all others, and are functioning as a “single unit". They have brought their senses and perceptions into alignment and are fully aware of the environment around them.

Individuation - the why and the how.
Many of us who work and live with autism recognize that autistic individuals have an underdeveloped sense of self in relation to the environment and others. They can have an unusual balance of skills, as well as obvious distortions in their sensory perceptions.

Ron Davis describes not being individuated as being everything and nothing at the same time. He says, “There was no sense of being an individual, so there was no ‘me’. There was nothing to have a sense of identity. Without a ‘me’, there was no basis for memory or knowledge.”

The way we bring about individuation is to encourage the individual to find their ‘natural orientation’, the stable place to which we orient ourselves to our bodies and the world. For most people, this place is above and behind our heads.

Those of us who completed normal childhood development milestones did this naturally. We had to in order to function normally. Some of us may have an orientation that is a little off! However, when it is in a stable place, our perceptions are consistent; and we can function normally.

Because there is a vast variation of symptoms and individuals will have different strengths related to their position on the autistic spectrum, we use a variety of methods to bring about individuation and a stable orientation.

Once a stable orientation has been established, we then encourage practice in using it with some visual, auditory and kinesthetic exercises to strengthen the newly created or previously undeveloped neural pathway. Once a natural orientation has been stabilized, a person will have an accurate and consistent point of reference for all the perceptions.

We have seen a wide variety of changes in autistic individuals after this process is completed, including changes in speech patterns, reduction in stress related to perceived loud noises and bright lights, and improvements in balance and coordination. We have seen an increased ability to focus on tasks for longer periods of time, a reduction in other related learning differences, and an increased awareness of people and physical surroundings.

Again because of the vast variation of symptoms, the time it takes for the individuation process to be completed can vary. The signs that it has been completed is a change in behaviors. Once that has occurred, we can begin the second stage – Identity Development.

This is development of the core identity, the foundation of an individual’s personality. It is the core identity that creates the foundation for new knowledge, new experiences and new behaviors. Every experience is stored and filtered by the core identity. With out a core identity there is no foundation for memory or acquisition of knowledge.

Ron Davis suggests an autistic individual has either failed to start identity development or has not fully completed it.

In typical childhood development, we see the core identity starting to take shape around the age of two; we often refer to this as the ‘terrible two’s’. When a child becomes aware that he is a separate individual, with opinions and feelings that are different from those held by others, this is an indication that he  has developed a sufficient sense of himself as an individual to have a mind of his own, and thus, reject suggestions or requests made by others.

Identity development is never fully completed as we are always having new experiences, which add to our sense of identity. The “core” however, has to be established in early childhood in order for new experiences to have something to anchor themselves to -- otherwise the new experiences would be transient.

Transient experiences are something we often see in individuals on the autism spectrum. For example some show a lack of fear when crossing the road no matter how many dangerous traffic situations they have had previously. Others display an unreasonable fear of non-threatening devices such as hand dryers or flushing toilets regardless of how many times they have experienced them before.

Identity development - the why and the how

Identity development refers to the learning that normally takes place as children grow and learn concepts that help them to understand how they work and how the world works around them.

When the important stage of individuation is completed and the individual is experiencing a more accurate perception of the world, we can start to introduce or re-establish ‘life concepts’. We need to introduce them in a way that will not be rejected by any existing core identity. We can only add to previous experiences -- not take away.

The process that is followed here to introduce these ideas is called Concept Mastery. This draws on the visual strengths shared by many autistic individuals and allows the concepts to be fully integrated into the core identity in a fun, experiential and interesting way -- therefore forming a solid base to build future ideas on.

When we master an ability or skill like riding a bicycle or driving a car, we incorporate the process of doing it into our identity.  With some practice, we can perform the activity without conscious thought.  The ability has become a part of who and what we are.  When we master a word or concept with the Davis Concept Mastery procedure, the concept becomes a part of who and what we are.  In order to accomplish this, two things must be involved – the personal experience of the individual and the creativity of the individual.

Social integration - The why and the how

Social integration does not come naturally to someone on the autistic spectrum. The lack of social skills can cause much concern to their loved ones.

It is only when the first two stages (Individuation and Identity Development) have been completed that we can put our attention on social integration. If an individual does not have a sense of self and a functioning core identity they cannot adapt to those around them. An individual who has not fully individuated will always be challenged and appear socially indept.

Now that the autistic individual has completed the first two stages, they have a sufficient foundation upon which to build an understanding of how relationships work.

The relationship concepts have been designed to explore the different types of relationships we can have with others. Each one is created in plastalina clay and can then be explored or built on depending on the needs/request of the individual.