It can be hard to communicate when you have Autism, especially when it directly affects the tone you have when you communicate verbally. Many autistic people, regardless of age or verbal communicability, simply don't know right off the bat if you're truly upset with them or are joking. Most autistic people don't even understand sarcasm, myself (author of the course) included!

Depending on the level of Autism a person is affected by in their daily life, that person can either be functionably verbal, semi-verbal or completely nonverbal. And, just as verbal capabilities are affected by the level of the disorder, they can also be situationally affected.

For example, say a person with ASD were to perform a song with little to no warning or prep time. There are two ways that situation can go:

1. A meltdown
2. Minor or complete loss of ability to communicate verbally.

Think of it like using an older printer. If the printer is off, of course it's not going to print anything for you! However, if the printer is on but also has no ink in certain colors, it might print but you might end up with your assignment or presentation poorly printed or with certain colors missing. On the flip side, if your computer is old, you have the unfortunate adventure of your screen either freezing up, or accidentally printing something 5-10 times and no one wants that!

Much like that computer and printer, if you don't give an Autistic person enough time to process what you want them to do or the direction on how to do it, you end up screwing with their mental "ink cartridges" or their "computer" and they'll either go semi-verbal as mentioned before or go completely nonverbal.