I'd be curious to know if anyone here has a child with this issue but feels entirely confident that ASD is not on the table. (My DD has a tendency towards literal thinking as well, though it's not nearly as pronounced as some kids' seems to be. It's also improved. She does not like to be joked with in this way, still, but recognizes that it is joking.)
DD11 is quite literal, if not as extreme as some of the kids here, but I'm about 99 percent sure ASD is not an issue. She's very precise with language, and idioms tend to drive her nuts.
She's one of those kids who will follow the letter of the law, but not necessarily the spirit, so we spend a lot of time detailing the exceptions and closing the loopholes for any of our rules.
In addition, she frequently does her schoolwork twice, particularly for questions like "What do you think?" or "What would you do?" She'll answer with what she considers to be the *correct* answer first, and then she'll answer the way the teacher wants. (She only turns in the second set.)
