“Does your child not respond when you call him/her?
“Does your child rarely follow a command?
“Do you wonder if your child can even understand what you are saying?
“It might even seem like your child has a challenge with their receptive language (with their understanding of language)…
“We believe (here at the Autism Treatment Center of America) that our children are able to understand a great deal more than we will ever give them credit for!!! You might be thinking – so, why is my child not responding when we talk to him/ her???
“This is because your child is most likely in a RED LIGHT.
“Once we start looking at our children through the lenses of The Son-Rise Program’s GREEN LIGHTS, and RED LIGHTS, then the way we see our children becomes so much more clear to us; and we are able to understand what’s truly happening for them…
“When we see …:
- Our children not responding to the person talking to them…
- Our children not following a command…
- Our children seeming like they cannot hear us…
- Our children not looking and/or engaging with us…
“Those are all signs of our children’s RED LIGHTS!
“That means – our children are experiencing sensory overload, focusing on regulating themselves, and are not able to attend and take in anything or anyone else for that moment. It is not a sign of lack of understanding, but instead it is a sign that our children are attending to something else (their own sensory/nervous system).
“Our children are very intelligent and understand a whole lot more than it appears. Our children understand more than they are able to communicate back to us.
“This is hugely important, because it changes how we approach our children in those moments. If we know to look at those moments as “my child is in sensory overload/ RED LIGHT” and not “my child is un-intelligent or un-willing”, it changes everything!!!
“Next time when it seems like your child doesn’t understand what you are saying, take a moment to assess your child for the RED LIGHTS signs, and know your child is taking a moment to self-regulate.
Written by Camila Titone, Senior Son-Rise Program Teacher
4 Responses
I understand the red light and green light concept but what I do not understand that even if he looks at me doing the action he is not interested in repeating it himself he likes Mickey so I print Mickey pose actions but still no progress . Is it really true that he understand receptive language . I am confused.
Please help.
Hi Aisha, thank you so much for writing…and for trying out these concepts! We would recommend you schedule an individual consultation to get help with this particular issue from one of our senior teachers: https://autismtreatmentcenter.bookafy.com
Merci beaucoup de votre aide pour faciliter la communication avec l’enfant autiste et comment minimiser la surcharge sensorielle, et de nous profiter de l’état feu vert pour transmettre des message simple aux enfants autistes,
Merci encore une fois,
Père enfant autiste de l’Algérie,
You’re welcome and thank you for sharing such a lovely note. We love to help families!