Yes, yet another book excerpt. These two sections deal with "situational" communication and active listening. These are short excerpts, with signifiant content already in the full book chapter. I want to thank my cousin Jeanne and several other experts for helping with these sections. Jeanne has a master's degree in speech pathology and education. It's great to have so many people helping me with this project. Situational Greetings and Partings A student told me that his “great date” never returned his call. He did everything right. I asked how the date ended. “I shook her hand and thanked Ms. Great for the opportunity to share an afternoon with her.” Even I knew the problem: situational greetings and partings. I asked the student, who complained that several great dates hadn’t progressed to a second or third, if he always shook hands and used formal surname addresses upon parting. “Yes. I want to be polite, don’t I?” The logic is sound, but out of place. I wasn’t ...
At birth, doctors suggested I would be mentally disabled, in addition to the physical injuries I suffered. I have never been described as normal. “High-functioning autism” (HFA) is just another way to describe a few aspects of “me.” The autistic me is the creative me, the curious me, the complete me.