[Source:  My Aspergers Child]

“Can you help me to understand what they mean when they say that children with Aspergers or high functioning autism appear to experience a ‘lack of reciprocity’ in social interactions?”

This refers to a child who does not understand nonverbal communication (e.g., gestures, facial expressions, etc.) and, for example, may continue a conversation even though the person he is talking to is looking at his watch trying to get away. The child with Asperger’s or HFA has difficulty recognizing and understanding others’ use of facial expression and  and gestures during conversation. His lack of response to this type of communication creates great difficulty for him in social relationships. Likewise, the child may not use nonverbal communication and may appear expressionless in most conversations or interactions with others. This is why “lack of reciprocity” is such an important issue to address in treatment and/or social skills training.

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