An Early Morning Theory on ASD & Scripting

Mikal Britt, Behaviorist 10+ Years

One of the things I have always loved about working with autism is the endless mystery it provides (that’s also one of the most frustrating things as well!).  However, whether clinical or theoretical, autism provides a lot of thought provoking intrigue and brain-nourishing questions.  This means things never get boring or mundane.  There is always a new angle to consider and study.
Recently, I have been listening to a book called “Busting Loose From the Money Game” by Robert Sheinfeld.  The book is much more philosophical in nature than the title suggests.  It is about the ways we comprehend the world, the rules we adhere to without even thinking, the invisible forces that guide our thoughts and decision-making.  

Part of the book examines the concept of time – the idea that time is a human construct.  Time does not really exist.  It is an abstract notion humans developed in order to create a sense of linear order and structure to our existence.  We use it as a soothing and coping mechanism.  It’s a reference point so we can feel like things are not just happening haphazardly all at once.

  This got me thinking – what about people who do not have an understanding on the abstract nature of time?  What about people who grew up without naturally internalizing a sense of “time”?  What if you didn’t have an internal clock?  

I have met and worked with many autistic people who did not get “time”.  It is not concrete or real.  Five minutes, thirty minutes, two weeks, two months… Maybe there is a general broad sense understanding, but that doesn’t mean it is really quantified or relied upon in the same way we think of it and use it. 

So if someone doesn’t have an internal sense of time running in the background of everything they do, then how does one create order?
Scripting! 
Scripting is like a different way of creating order, especially for someone who can’t use time to create order.  Imagine living in a world where time wasn’t a natural instinct.  You might feel lost and confused very often.  You might feel off balance.  You might develop a new strategy to localize and orientate your place in the world.

I know the general consensus is that scripting is basically emotional and replaces language or ideas/feelings that can’t be expressed.  But I think scripting may also be a replacement for time, meaning structure and order.  If I can memorize things that were said and done in the past and recall them in the present, it’s almost like something to hold on to.  I am no longer floating.  Now I am attached to a linear series of events.  The more distant and confused I feel from the present moment, the more I will script in order to center myself in the order of the universe. 

It’s just a theory.  Something to think about while I drink my coffee.  But with many of my clients, scripting has been something on which no intervention seems to work.  Scripting is a deep need, which means its purpose must be more in depth and powerful than we can possibly imagine.