This safer emotional-isolation (like the person in Paul Simon’s song “I am a Rock”) means however you miss out on the instinctive human-pleasure of sharing joy. You miss out on the rewards of Interaction, and you are getting little practice at it !!

Regarding getting a shared-happy response from you after you have been given an ice-cream, for example, that is actually the least-likely time to get a response from you, so self-replete in your Own World are you.

How do we Reverse this emotional isolation? We don’t. There is no magic wand for “instant Own-World-focus reversal”.

Instead what we do is begin a gradual “change of course” via Junior Real World Training, just a little at a time. Because if we are clear on where we are headed, what we want to achieve, then we have the patience and confidence to tolerate making changes gradually.

So – What do we want to achieve? We want to introduce and reinforce a “Real World” orientation. Why? Because by giving your Boy.Girl an experience of successful and fun Real World interaction you introduce the possibility that there is more to life than just self-focused thoughts and feelings. And he.she will respond (gradually), because it is still a strong instinct in humans to enjoy each others’ company, regardless of your Child’s current impediments of oversensitivity and confusion.

How do we interest our loved one in this Real World interaction? Our method is we strategically “Sell” the benefits of Real-World interaction versus Own-World interaction, and thereby redirect our Children’s orientation over time. How do we sell these Real World benefits?

We find games (“games” being defined in the broadest sense) that our Child likes to play, pitched at his.her level, but he.she can only play  by asking specifically for them, leaving Own World at least briefly to communicate his.her preferences.

We are at the same time conscious of the sensory challenges that are still there, and therefore the extra energy required to overcome such impediments to play the game, thus we are always prepared to stop and give Own World breakout times. Structured Relaxation also is a key part of the Training, to help quieten your Loved One’s “Chattering Mind” so that mental and physical relief is more possible along with better bodily self-awareness and self-regulation.

Favourable Real World experiences build up over time. Your Child will become increasingly willing and prepared to be aware of others in order to enjoy the games, in order to experience shared fun – (along with the knowledge that he.she won’t be stretched too much by you, and can periodically rest) . These experiences produce a “benign circle” , where success leads to further success !