Teaching emotions has been part of autism curriculums for decades. I remember dated flashcards with pictures of faces and asking students to identify which emotion was being expressed on the card (Baron-Cohen et al., 2007). As the technology became available, we began naming emotional expressions from a video (Akmanoglu, 2015). Looking back, I realize how truly ridiculous this identification was as a method of teaching the complex skill of emotions. Identification of emotions is just simply insufficient for the labyrinth of the human experience of emotion.

One of the primary purposes of emotions is to contribute to our overall psychological well-being by helping us cope with stress, regulate our mood, and experience positive feelings. Identifying emotions in pictures is light years away from this desired outcome. Unfortunately, there wasn’t a lot of guidance on teaching emotions—to teach autistic individuals the rich emotions that are the human condition and how the emotions we experience help teach us, keep us safe, and create social bonds with others around us.

When I read Ron Suskind’s Life Animated: A Story of Sidekicks, Heroes, and Autism (2014), I was absolutely enchanted. The Suskind family bravely shared their story of how Disney films provided a way to connect with their autistic son, Owen. They increased Owen’s capacity to communicate and understand the world around him. Owen memorized lines, identified with characters, and used their stories to make sense of his own experiences and emotions. I had heard........

© Psychology Today