Call Me Different Not Difficult Summary

John Robison the author of “Call Me Different, Not Difficult,” has autism and lived most of his life with his condition undiagnosed. In the article Robison shares his personal experiences as well as his sons to convey the struggles students with autism face. Robinson enlightens the reader that not all teachers are capable of teaching students with autism. One must be understanding in order to have patience to accept the difference students with autism have.
Those with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) see the world in a diverse way; teachers and adults need to recognize this. Robison gives examples of his childhood where he misinterpreted information from others including social cues, as well as instructions. He was in these situations punished either socially or academically.
For adults to minimize this miscommunication Robinson states six guidelines for teacher to better help and understand students with ASD.

Each rule is presented and then further defined. The rules include,
“Tell students exactly what you want, and say exactly what you mean … Be consistent
and predictable … Be flexible in your conversational responses … Expect good manners
… Pay attention to sensory issues … Be sensitive to our state of mind, even if we seem
oblivious to yours” (Robinson 42-43).

In these rules all of them include paying better attention to what your student needs and how to make school easier for them and less awkward. Robinson then concludes with asking teachers and adults to be friends and allies to those with ASD for the sake that it can be very lonely.
Robison’s article gives educators teaching students with ASD hope in that they can find a way to help their students strive. One strength of the article is the author has first-hand experience. Robison has lived through schooling where teachers were unprepared to help his needs. Having an author whose views and information are based on emotion and experience gives the reader a better understanding on how the student feels. When you are told from a person who has dealt with these issues where they need to be corrected you are not getting statistics; you are getting information that is important to the voices of students with ASD.
The article is not perfect though, it does have some weaknesses.

One weakness being its strength; that there is no real scientific evidence cited. The article is purely emotional based, this leads to a better understanding but the information is also bias. To have an effective and accepted article it needs to have some proven evidence. With Robinson’s article’s information being purely through experience one could argue that these skills and rules he has outlined cannot be assumed effective on students with ASD as a whole but only those he has observed.
Robison states repeatedly that those with ASD have a very hard time reading social cues including body language. Nonverbal communication such as body language and tone of voice make up 93% of communication according to Yaffe. Is it possible for those with ASD to learn to understand nonverbal communication, and use these skills to better overall communication? If a person can learn the symptoms to an illness and be able to diagnosis it can a person with ASD learn the “symptoms” to nonverbal

communication.
Robison’s fourth rule is “Expect Good Manners,” he states in the article that we should not expect any less than polite from those with ASD. Robison states, “The best way to avoid being rejected is to stop acting weird” (43). Does this mean that we should take away the individualism of these students with ASD to make them seem less “weird” to the other students? I am aware that sounds like a harsh question but the author writes this rule with a harsh tone making it seem as though teachers should make students with ASD more like the general population.
In a classroom with twenty plus students a teacher can become overwhelmed. The article gives the reader a positive set of skills to help themselves and their students maintain a healthy environment. Robison’s first rule is to “Tell students exactly what you want, and say exactly what you mean” (42). This can applied to a real-world classroom by simply giving more in-depth and less vague instructions.
An example of this would be your classroom getting ready to go to lunch and a student with ASD is your line leader and has never had this position before and is a little choppy on his or her skills. The teacher can give precise directions instead of saying “Okay everyone line up.” They could say “Okay, Josh (student with ASD) go line up in front of the door where they rest of the class with file in behind you. Then you can lead them to lunch.” This statement is not demeaning it simply gives Josh our ASD student the information he needs without making him look stupid.