What does an autistic child dream about? One thing that I know is that kids with autism often can't tell us what's in their heads. Charlie has learned to communicate more than we ever thought he would be capable of, and this morning he shocked me.
I was sitting at the foot of his bed trying to get him up for school and he said, "I dreamed I pulled my tooth."
I told him that the reason he dreamed about his teeth was probably because he is seeing the dentist on Thursday and he's excited. He goes to a dentist in our old hometown and when we go we always plan to do fun things in the big city. We are going to go to the zoo on Thursday.
He was fine with that. He understood.
When he was younger, he would have dreams just like every other human on the planet, but they would wake him screaming. Even good dreams would freak him out because he would go from sleep to this state of confusion. I am glad that he's able to understand this way that his brain works.
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We autistics dream the gamut of emotional content, just like anyone else. It's wonderful that Charlie was able to understand your explanation of transition from dreams to wakefulness. This is something I need to do every day with my non-autistic wife, as she emerges from deep, vivid dreaminess to the sameness of her hospital room.