If you have spent anytime around a child with an autism spectrum disorder, then you will understand that these children do not understand common phrases that most of us take for granted. These kids are very literal. If you say, "I have my eye on you," they will literally look at their body to see if your eye is on them somewhere. Ditto for "scared the pants off of you." They will look down to see if their pants are still on their bodies. Same with "do you have a bee in your bonnet" or "hold your horses." You get the picture...
One recent evening, my son, Nick, was asking me questions about money. He wanted to know if he could write his name on a dollar bill and then spend it and see if it ever came back to him. I didn't think that was a good idea, so I told him that he couldn't write on money and I added that it might even be illegal. I told him I knew it was illegal to photocopy money and that he should not write on it ever.
The very next afternoon, my husband, Joe, had to take Nick to the doctor for his annual physical. The check-up was going to involve getting a booster shot. Nick hates doctors, doctor office visits, and shots. He doesn't want the doctor to look in his ears, up his nose, or in his eyes. In an attempt to hold off a potential battle, Joe stopped Nick just outside the door of the clinic and said, "Nick, I have a $20 dollar bill in my wallet with your name on it if you go in the doctor's office and behave." Nick immediately responded, "You can't write my name on money. Mommy said just last night not to write on money and she is a lawyer. It is illegal to write on money!!" Joe called me and wanted to know what to do next. I said, "just tell me he gets $20 if he behaves." Problem solved. We try to be very careful with what Nick now refers to as "figures of speech."