Appropriate Communication Methods
One of the most common difficulties that people on the autism spectrum face is communication.
But despite this, autism psychologists use the same techniques to schedule and communicate logistical details to their clients that every other psychologist/therapist uses: the telephone call and voice message.
Maybe this works when you’re talking to the neurotypical parents of ASD children.
But when you’re working with adults who are (or are likely to be) on the spectrum, having alternative communication methods may be beneficial.
I mean, with text messages you can assume that people mean what they say, because you have no context for anything else.
With video, you have the additional data from facial expression and possibly hand gestures which adds context to clarify words and intonation.
But with the “good old-fashioned” phone-call, all you have are sounds. Sounds which are, according to behavioral research, the least trustworthy of communications.
There isn’t as much accountability for telling the truth over the phone; nobody can see you and unless the call is being recorded (which is supposedly illegal…), it’s your word against theirs.
