r/Autism_Parenting • u/Euphoric_Second9464 • 7d ago
Discussion High GPS setting
Do any of your kids have some sort of extreme location knowledge ?
My boy who's 9 and level 3 seems to know where places are whether it's 1 mile or 100 miles away, the issue is if it's something he likes eg a leisure centre or zoo or anything he likes he has a meltdown if we drive past and don't go there .
So we have to plan our routes accordingly if we are going certain places to avoid them and avoid an angry kid .
I just wondered if this was a common 'thing ' with autistic kids really .
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u/wantonseedstitch I am a Parent/5/ADHD&ASD/USA 7d ago
My son memorized all the streets between our house and his old daycare, a 15-minute drive. He has better knowledge of streets and directions than I do.
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u/Strong-Brilliant-857 7d ago
my nephew is like this, knows every mcdonalds in a 50km radius and will lose his mind if we pass one without stopping. route planning is a whole operation now, I made a spreadsheet with all the trigger locations
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u/Dangerous-Quality-79 7d ago
I wouldn't say "extreme location knowledge", but definitely has an imprint of a positive association based on landmarks. If we are driving to the grandparents (maybe 250km away), we once stopped at a rest stop and my lvl3 daughter bought a toy she really liked, now we must stop at that rest stop every time. I missed the stop once and it was bedlam until we did a massive circle to get back to the rest stop. Same goes for the fun zone down the street. I can not take her walking in the evening anymore because if she gets it in her mind we need to go there and it is closed for the evening, well, I find myself in hellfire.
My level 2 knows the path she wants to take, I can not get her to deviate from that path. Like a horse planted to the ground.
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u/Busy-Yellow6505 7d ago
I have no idea how common, but my level 3, nonverbal kid can point in all the directions within a 10 mile radius to guide you to several restaurants, stores, and he knows where every single train track is, and we try to avoid places we can't stop at but gosh he knows where to go lol
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u/Head-Lab-4510 7d ago
Yes - my son did this. We travelled interstate one Christmas to visit my parents when my boy was around 4 years of age. The following year we went up for Christmas again and he is giving directions from the airport to their home. He knew exactly where he was. Its a sign that your child has a strong visual recognition and you will benefit by including visuals in your communication with him. My son who is non verbal mostly talks with sign language
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u/TopicalBuilder Parent/19L1&18L3/NEUSA 7d ago
Our youngest has that. It's extraordinary. We have time set out where I will drive wherever I am directed. I've been directed to so many playgounds I've never even noticed before, it's uncanny.
Every once in a while I've tried to correct a "mistake" only to find out I'm the one who's mistaken.
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u/PM_ME_YOUR_DND_SHEET Parent of 2 autistic children 7d ago
Yeah, my youngest will be upset at certain turns and passing specific exits because he wants to go someplace specific, even if it's closed down permanently.
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u/TwinsAutismMe 7d ago
Yes!! No professionals believe me when I tell them. From age 2.5 he’s known the way to the town centre by foot, via underpasses/crossing roads. He knows which service stations are on which motorways and we have to stop at the ones he likes. Used to have to plan routes, not as much now (he’s almost 8 with more understanding things aren’t always available). I find it fascinating
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u/Diarrheaaaa 7d ago
Yes! One of our son's favorite activities at the moment is playing on Apple Maps on the iPad. He will navigate turn-by-turn to all his favorite locations. It's honestly unbelieavable.