Understanding Autism Literal Thinking by Alee Behavioral Healthcare
                     Understanding Autism 
Literal Thinking
There are many different traits and 
behaviors that are often associated with 
autism and related disorders, including 
literal thinking.
What is literal thinking?
Literal thinking, sometimes referred to as concrete 
thinking, refers to the way in which we view the 
world around us. By definition, literal thinkers “may 
take information at face value without thinking 
beyond or generalizing the information to other 
meanings or situations.”
However, this manner of thinking can sometimes 
lead to communication issues in children (or 
adults) with autism and related disorders when 
they are introduced to abstract concepts.
Why do children with autism 
tend to think literally?
Children with autism and related disorders tend to think 
literally because they tend to adopt a more concrete 
thought process.
They like to be able to understand what is happening 
around them, meaning that they’ll find automatic trains 
of thought to be confusing, as they are not always 
sensical or straightforward.
What are the benefits of 
literal thinking?
Literal thinking can come in handy in many 
different areas of your child’s life. For example, it 
often enables them to perform well in school, 
especially in subjects that are based in fact or the 
ability to recognize patterns.
Literal thinking can also help your children make 
smarter, more informed decisions in other areas of 
their life, as they’re better able to assess the 
situation and determine the best course of action.
Furthermore, employers are often on the lookout 
for literal thinkers.
When can literal thinking present a problem?
While neurotypical people may find it easy to use idioms such as “under the weather”, 
or “piece of cake”, various studies have found that “children with ASD face greater 
difficulty than normal children in understanding idioms; they fail to consider social 
context and tend to interpret expressions literally.” For example, if they are told that 
information came “straight from the horse’s mouth”, this could be a point of 
confusion for them.
Therapeutic services can also prove useful when it comes to helping your child see 
the world from a different perspective, whether they’re enrolled in speech therap y or 
ABA.
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