How to Explain Autism Spectrum Disorder to a Child

Updated September 19, 2023: Since I first wrote Goldilocks and the Three Bears: Understanding Autism Spectrum Disorder, it has been through two publishers, and is now finally at its final home with Wild Ink Publishing. Instead of the PDF I describe here, you can purchase the completely revised and beautifully illustrated book at Amazon and Barnes and Noble. I hope you still find use in this description. Since the story has been revised, I’ll be redoing the audiobook at a later time and adding that here. Thank you!

In this two-part series, I have taken the well-known fairy tale of Goldilocks and the Three Bears and rewritten it with the character of Goldilocks as having Autism Spectrum Disorder. I wrote her character to demonstrate some of the most common characteristics a person with ASD might exhibit.

While every person with ASD has varying levels of severity and presentation, according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM-5) to receive a diagnosis of ASD a person must meet the following criteria:

• Persistent deficits in social communication and social interaction across multiple contexts
• Restricted, repetitive patterns of behavior, interests, activities
• Symptoms must be present in the early developmental period
• Symptoms cause clinically significant impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of current functioning
• These deficits are not better explained by an intellectual disability or global developmental delay although these can be co-morbid conditions

For a more detailed description of each of these areas visit the CDC’s description of the DSM-5 Autism Spectrum Disorder diagnostic criteria.

These characteristics can be difficult to explain to young children who are either classmates, relatives or acquaintances of someone with ASD.

Part Two is no longer available, but a new audiobook will be arriving shortly!