Why Thomas the Tank Engine?
Children with ASD seem to be particularly fascinated with Thomas. A number of reasons have been proposed to explain this special relationship. • Children with autism are often attracted to objects arranged in lines (like cars on a train), as well as spinning objects and wheels. • Thomas and his friends have bold, easily-to-recognize colors. • Thomas and the other characters have friendly faces, often with exaggerated expressions. In the videos, the expressions are set for some time and are often accompanied by simple narration explaining the emotion (“Thomas was sad.”), allowing children to identify the feelings and expressions. • The narration of the videos is calm and clear, and changes are ‘signposted’ clearly. • The stories are relatively short (less than five minutes) and easy to follow. Things that go wrong are usually resolved by the end of the episode. • The unique stop-action photography of the videos allows the background and scenery to remain still, allowing for greater focu
