Monday 10 December 2012 is national Plain English Day which recognises the best and worst of written and spoken communications.Who could argue with that? Does anyone like governmentspeak?
Ah, but wait!
To raise awareness of the importance of using plain English when speaking to people with autism, we’re encouraging people to tweet their favourite silly phrases and everyday sayings to @NatAutisticSoc using #literallydaft. Here are a few examples to get you started:
It’s raining cats and dogs
Let’s go out for a run in the car
We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it
Not my cup of tea
Sayings like these are used in everyday situations but to some people with autism and Asperger syndrome they are taken literally and can cause confusion and, in some cases, fear and anxiety.*speechless*
Which is, I guess, just how they want us to be...
13 comments:
Its all gone to hell in handcart and the clowns have taken over the circus #literallytrue
My eight-year-old grandson has Asperger's; we and his parents try not to let it interfere too much with the life he is quite capable of living.
He loves wordplay and things like this really tickle his funny-bone. Perhaps if some of these 'experts' asked parents and grandparents, rather than trying to do the PC thing all the time, we would all be much better off.
They can go and jump in a lake.
Stonyground says:
Who says 'raining cats and dogs' these days anyway, the currently preferred phrase is 'pissing down'.
As for these people, you have to wonder if they ever spend any time at all in reality land.
As an autistic f*****g Tourettes sufferer I don't see how I can go f**k myself, which is what those c***s at the National Autistic Society say whenever I f*****g swear at them.
I asked the Tourettes Action Group what it meant, but just got a volley of abuse in reply.
One such guy asked if it was OK to turn on the TV. I replied 'yes' but 15 mins later i was shocked to see him engaged in a sexual act with a 47 yr old ladyboy...
One such guy asked if it was OK to turn on the TV. I replied 'yes' but 15 mins later i was shocked to see him engaged in a sexual act with a 47 yr old ladyboy...
It's raining cats and dogs...
And bugger I've just stepped in a poodle.
"Perhaps if some of these 'experts' asked parents and grandparents, rather than trying to do the PC thing all the time, we would all be much better off."
Oh, no, that would never do! There's nothing such people could possibly tell these experts.
If you disagree with them, you must be doing it wrong.
Usual question:where does the money come from? Fake charity no.269425. £90m turnover.
If I had the time, I'd just work through the Profanisaurus, although some of the similes, e.g. "like throwing a sausage down a corridor" or "badly packed kebab" for example, are accurate depictions one might use every day.
Perhaps the safest way is to ask before commencing a conversation whether someone is autistic or Asperger's or has anything else wrong with them that might require a more simplistic mode of communication. In fact, telephone conversations should go a little like this:
*Ring*Ring*Ring
Kay Youentee: "Hello?"
Harry Sphincter: "Hello. Are you autistic, have Asperger's or suffer from anything else that means that I should be as plain as possible and avoid nuance?"
Kay: "No, but are you autistic, have Asperger's or suffer from anything else that means that I should be as plain as possible and avoid nuance?"
Harry: "Yes, as it happens, my watercolours are in great demand"
Similarly, if someone is confused by something you say, just ask "Are you autistic or something?" and the repeat yourself, using monosyllables if possible, very slowly.
Tweet "raise awareness"
I know of one Asperger's patient, a lad at the time, who literally put his roller skates on when told to "get your skates on" by his mmother. Unfortunately he's also, in my clinical opinion, a psychopath and a great potential danger to women.
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