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"Father, I Cannot Tell A Lie"...
The Apparent Inability To Lie In The Autistic!
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The autistic child's world was one
of exactness and completeness in everything. A lie was, by definition, a
"fabrication" and thus, until the autistic child saw another child lying and the
lie was labeled as "a lie", then, the autistic child appeared unable to lie
because it was something that was simply not part of "normal life" - at least
not part of life for very young children! Young children did not “inherently
lie” - it was something they had to be "taught", something they had to learn!
They had to "learn it" by seeing someone else do it. A "lie" was a new "part"
or "aspect" of language that was, at least at first, unknown or "nonexistent" to
the autistic child. Yet, once a lie was heard and the "label" of "a lie" was
given and the autistic child actually perceived that "this was a falsehood", I
believed autistic children could understand the concept of a lie and use it in
language and "fib" as well as anyone else. :o) Again, as with everything, labeling and understanding were key!
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