A LOOK AT CONTEXT BLINDNESS AND AUTISM, HOW DIFFICULTY UNDERSTANDING CONTEXT OCCURS AND WHAT CAN BE DONE ABOUT IT.

By Rachel ANDERSEN

Recently my husband and I drove several states away to attend a friend’s wedding. It was an evening wedding, and I came prepared with a beautiful, slightly formal, emerald green dress and gold accessories, including gold stilettos with a big gold bow at the ankles.

We arrived at the wedding, and as we looked for a place to park, I began to notice the other guests filing into the church. Their attire was extremely different from mine. They looked beautiful and elegant in a “We are off to the Kentucky Derby” kind of way.

I realized that I had “missed the memo.” As gorgeous as my dress was, it was inappropriate for this particular event. My mistake was not lost on the other people surrounding me, and I felt very uncomfortable.

For people with autism, these kinds of situations can happen many times on a daily basis. It’s called context blindness. Context blindness and autism often go hand in hand. How we can help our kids with autism experience it less?

What is context blindness?

Simply put, context blindness is when someone does not notice the context of the situation they are in. This can cause them to act, speak, or dress inappropriately. It can also make them fearful or concerned about other people’s actions, because for them, they don’t seem like they match the context of the event.

To carry my example forward, I showed up in my outfit and immediately understood why it was not the correct choice. Someone with context blindness may not have picked up on the why, yet could still endure the uncomfortable feelings.

This could mean being afraid when someone is celebrating loudly, instead of joining them. To a person who has context blindness, someone running, screaming, and crying in joy might look the same as someone who is very upset. If all you see is the action and not the reason behind it, it can be frightening.