A fully-formed Green Man

Facilitating Andrew who lived with complex autism

August 2026

A fully-formed Green Man

A video and annotated transcript of a Symbolic Modelling and Clean Language session

Facilitated by Penny Tompkins & James Lawley

October 2023

Below you will find an edited video recording and annotated transcript of a Symbolic Modelling and Clean Language session. The annotation can also be downloaded as a PDF.

The client, Andrew Bloomfield, lived with complex Autism and required Supported Typing and a computer-generated voice to express himself.

The recording of the 75 minute session was edited to 35 minutes by removing: (1) long pauses, (2) many of the Andrew’s word-by-word answers, and (3) the time while Andrew is out of the room. All of the content has been preserved.

Andrew and his parents gave permission for this video to be made available so others can be inspired by Andrew who died in 2024. He was a remarkable man!

Andrew wrote the article What is Clean Language and why is it important?: It’s value for me living with complex Autism, Ontario Adult Autism Research and Support Network, 2018.

Notes:

The session starts conversationally before transitioning into a more classic clean facilitation.

“Green” is Andrew’s metaphor for being in a good state.

We point out and explain seven specialised and contextually clean questions which are used in addition to the basic Clean Language question set.

And we provide a summary of the 5 phases and 7 vectors evident in this Symbolic Modelling session.

A = Andrew, P = Penny, J = James.

Words in bold in the transcript indicate:

– the words introduced by the facilitators

– the format of the Clean Language questions asked.

Phases/Vectors

This is a summary of the 5 phases and 7 vectors that comprised the flow of this Symbolic Modelling session:

1: J2-A7 A conversational clean way of identifying how Andrew has been “trying to get out of this pit”. This both acknowledges his “trying” and lets us know that he will need something in addition to what he has already been doing.

2a: P8-A25 Modelling the start of the process of becoming “green” again.

2b: J26-A44 Modelling the rest of the process.

3: A44-A60 Developing the effect of Green Man “in full form” (prompted by Andrew’s shift from parts to whole at A44).

4a: A62-A82 Identifying the needs of Green Man while he “sleeps/hides” (prompted by new information from Andrew at A62).

4b: J83-A86 Identifying Andrew’s desired Outcome until Green Man “comes out of hiding”.

5: P87-A90 Closing.

	P/J A	Transcript	Our Comments	Video Time
1	A	Lately I have been feeling stuck. I was green for awhile until I had a seizure a couple of weeks ago so I am trying to get out of this pit.		01:00
2	J	I’m sorry to hear that Andrew. What are you doing totry and get out of it, what have you been doing to try and get out of the pit?	Vector 1: Identifying what Andrew has been “trying”. First four questions ‘Conversationally clean’.	02:47
3	A	I try to get outside as much as I can like running or going for walks or gardening.
4	J	Good to get into the outside into nature is a good idea. And anything else you’ve been doing as well as getting outside for running and walks and gardening? Anything else you’ve been doing to try and get out of that pit?		03:55
5	A	Listening to calming music, and table games and puzzles sometimes help, and eat good healthy food.
6	J	And which would you say is the most effective in helping you to get unstuck?		04:26
7	A	It varies a lot of the times, but I think probably getting outside helps a little more than the others.
8	P	And when you’re stuck like this, what’s the first thing that lets you know when you’re starting to turn green?	Vector 2a: Modelling starting-to-become-green-again process. Since Andrew has been “green” before we assume: – Getting “out of the pit” is equivalent to being “green” again. – It’s a process that will have a “start”. – Andrew will have some way of knowing the process has started.	04:47
9	A	My head starts to clear and the fogginess goes away.
10	P	And when your head starts to clear, what kind of clear is that?	Once Andrews reports on his inner world (metaphor landscape), we switch to classically clean questions.	05:42
11	A	It feels clean and vivid like cleaning up your room and organising your things.
12	J	And that’s when the fogginess goes away and your head starts to clear, it’s like cleaning up your room, organising your things. What gets cleaned first?	Contextually clean question (#1) since logically, something has to get “cleaned” first.	06:00
13	A	The stuff on the floor because I can trip and hurt myself.
14	J	So clean up the stuff on the floor first, and that’s like when your head starts to clear, the fog starts to go away. What happens just before you start cleaning up the stuff on the floor?	Continuing to invite Andrew to attend to the beginning of the process.	06:28
15	A	I start to feel a relaxing sensation like I feel as light as air.
16	J	And you start to feel that relaxing sensation, whereabouts do you start to feel that relaxing sensation?		07:56
17	A	In my head, in the centre.
18	J	In the centre of your head. And so what happens there in the centre of your head when you start to feel thatrelaxing sensation?		08:24
19	A	I can see more clearly and I start working on that room.
20	J	So that’s when you feel that relaxing sensation in the centre of your head, then you can see more clearly andyou feel as light as air, anything else about feeling as light as air?	Attending to the metaphor from A15.	09:30
21	A	It relaxes other parts of my body and I go from feeling tense to loose.
22	P	And that’s feeling light as air, and where could air like that come from?	Specialised/contextually clean question (#2) which presupposes “air” has a source.	10:00
23	A	It comes from the back of my head and it reaches to the top.
24	P	Anything else about that air that comes from the back of your head and reaches to the top?		10:52
25	A	I can do more and I have more motivation to clean up the room.
26	J	That gives you more motivation to clean up the room. Andyou can start to clean up the room when you feel that relaxed feeling in the centre of your head. And that’s like light as air, and the air comes from the back of your head and reaches up and then you feel more relaxed over the rest of your body. So where’s the next place in your body that you feel relaxed?	Vector 2b: Modelling the rest of the process. Recap process identified so far, before switching from going back in time (to the start of the process), to going forward. Contextually clean question (#3) since if “it relaxes other parts” (A21) it follows there would be a “next part”. [James mistakenly said “next place”.]	11:08
27	A	It starts from the head and going down my neck and then my chest. [Andrew leaves the room for a few moments.]
28	J	Okay ready to continue Andrew? If you want to stop at any time just let us know.	Seeking permission to continue.	12:38
29		Assistant to Andrew: Do you want to continue?
30	J	Yes please. Sorry about that. I get restless sometimes and my body needs to move around.
31	P J P	That’s fine absolutely fine. Yeah, when your body needs to move, it needs to move. [Assistant to P & J: Did you get that last sentence?] Yes. It starts from the head and goes down to the neck and through your chest and then what happens?	Repeats last sentence and continues on vector started at J26.	13:53
32	A	The tense feeling in my chest starts to go away.
33	P	And when the tense feeling in your chest starts to go away, then what happens?		14:40
34	A	It feels relaxed and then it goes to my stomach.
35	J	And so the tense feeling in your chest starts to go away. And as that relaxed feeling goes down from your head, the air comes from the back of your head, it reaches up, you have that relaxed feeling in the centre, like light as air and then it goes down neck, chest and that’s that tense feeling starts to go away in your chest and as that tense feeling in your chest starts to go away, it goes away like what?	Recap becoming-green process identified so far, and then invite a metaphor for the “going away” process.
36	A	Evaporates like water. The tense feeling evaporates like water. [Andrew leaves the room for a few moments.]
37	P	And that tense feeling evaporates like water, and is there anything else about that water?		16:11
38	A	When it evaporates it feels like I have more oxygen to breathe.
39	P	And when you have more oxygen to breathe then what happens?		16:30
40	A	Then my stomach can start to feel more relaxed.
41	J	Then your stomach starts to feel more relaxed and so what happens in your stomach as it feels more relaxed?		16:47
42	A	Then I can feel the muscles in my arms and legs start to relax.
43	J	Those muscles in your arms and your legs they start to relax, when your stomach starts to relax. And that tense feeling in your chest evaporates like water and you’re feeling light as air in your head, and that goes down, and gets to your muscles in your legs and your arms and then what happens?	3rd recap of the process.	17:06
44	A	The Green Man is in full form.	Andrew shifts level from parts to a whole, “full”.
45	J	The Green Man is in full form. And so what’s happening to the feet of a Green Man that is in full form?	Vector 3: Effect of Green Man “in full form”. Contextually clean question (#4) since a “full form” Green Man presumably has feet. Also toes had been important in a previous session.	18:15
46	A	I can control my feet and hand movements.
47	J	And so then what happens to cleaning up your room, cleaning up the room and organising the things?	Keeping this metaphor in awareness.	18:35
48	A	It is spotless when the Green Man is in full form.
49	J	That’s when it’s spotless. When that Green Man is in full form and there’s relaxation in all those parts of your body, and you can control your hands and your feet, and so is there anything else about a Green Man in full form?	Keeping Green Man central.	18:49
50	A	The Green Man can show the world what he is made of.
51	P	And Green Man can show the world what he is made and then what happens when he can do that?		19:56
52	A	He can try to accomplish his dreams. [Andrew leaves the room for a few moments]
53	P	And the Green Man can show the world what he’s made of, and what is that Green Man made of?	Contextually clean question (#5) since, if Green Man is to “show what he is made of”, he must be made of something.	20:39
54	A	Lots of thoughts and ideas that needs to be shared with the world.
55	J	So the Green Man is made of lots of thoughts and ideas. What kind of thoughts and ideas is that Green Man made of?		21:06
56	A	That even though people like me cannot traditionally speak, we have other ways to show how we can express ourselves.
57	J	And these need to be shared with the world. Anything else about sharing these ideas of what a Green Man is made of with the world?		22:53
58	A	He wants to spread the message and build centres all over for people like me that need communication.
59	J	He wants to spread those ideas and build those centres and as that Green Man spreads those ideas all over, what happens in the centre of his head?		23:32
60	A	We make it feel like home. [Andrew leaves the room for a few moments]	Interesting use of “we”.
61	J	So what’s happening to that Green Man right now?		24:16
62	A	Right now the Green Man is asleep.	Given Green Man is “asleep” it suggests a shift in vector is required.
63	J	The Green Man is asleep, and is there anything that green man needs *while* he sleeps?	Vector 4a: Needs of Green Man. Use of ‘while’ shifts the timeframe to between now and when he wakes in the future.	24:44
64	A	Lots of friends and encouragement to nourish the brain.
65	J P J	So that sleeping green men needs friends and encouragement – – to nourish that brain. So what kind of encouragement will nourish the brain of a sleeping Green Man?		25:54
66	A	You must believe in the Green Man so he can come out of hiding but it takes a lot of work.	“Sleeping” and “hiding”.
67	P	To believe in that Green Man so he can come out of hiding, and what kind of belief in that Green Man is that?		26:17
68	A	The belief is made of love that comes from family and friends.
69	J P	So it’s the love from family and friends, that’s the belief in the Green Man that can bring him out of hiding, so that he can come out of hiding. Is there anything else about that love?		27:11
70	A	The Green Man returns the love back.
71	J	So the family and friends believe in the Green Man, and the Green Man returns that love back. And so is there anything else that Green Man needs to come out of hiding – as well as the love of family and friends?	Continues on needs vector started at J63.	28:08
72	A	That is all.
73	J	That’s all. And so how does the Green Man know that he is getting the love from family and friends when he’s hiding?	Contextually clean question (#6). Presumably if Green Man is going to “return the love back” he has a way of knowing he is getting the love even though he is “hiding”. If not, that would be a problem.	28:48
74	A	He senses it from others.
75	J	So he can sense it, whereabout does he sense it?		29:20
76	A	Hidden away, in the back of my head.	Shift from “he” to “my”.
77	J	So that’s where he senses it, in the back of your head andit’s hidden away there and when it’s hidden away there, it’s hidden away like what?		29:46
78	A	Until he gets strong enough to come out from hiding.
79	J	So he has to get strong enough to come out of hiding. So what kind of strong, what kind of strength is the strength that he needs to come out of hiding?	Continues on needs vector started at J63. [James didn’t need to replace “strong” with “strength”.]	30:12
80	A	It takes a lot of strength, like lifting a very heavy boulder.
81	J	He needs enough strength to be able to lift a very heavy boulder. When he’s got that strength then he can come out of hiding. Anything else about the strength, enough strength to come out of hiding?		30:39
82	A	It takes a long time to build up that strength and it feeds on positive encouragement and loving vibes from others.
83	J	It takes a long time to build up enough strength, the strength that could lift a heavy boulder so that the Green Man can come out of hiding. And so *until* that Green Man builds up that strength and comes out of hiding what would you like to have happen *until* he comes out of hiding?	Vector 4b: Identify client’s current needs/desired Outcome. Recap of Green Man’s process of “come out of hiding”. Use of “until” with similar purposes to J63.	31:09
84	A	I would like to have others help to give me lots of encouragement and believe in the Green Man until he is strong enough. Just be patient is an important key role as well.
85	J	And so can your family and friends give you lots of encouragement and believe in the Green Man and be patient, can your family and friends do that?	Contextually clean question (#7): checking whether Andrew believes his family and friends have the ability to do what he and the Green Man need.	31:52
86	A	Yes I believe they can.
87	P J P	You believe they can too. I know that I can and I know they do, we all do. We do, yes.	Vector 5: Closing. P&J overtly acknowledging Andrew’s belief to be true for them. Transitioning back into a conversational mode.	32:29
88	A	Thank you I can sense it from all of you
89	J	So we’ll be patient and I think we will draw this conversation to a close Andrew and we’ll we can make an arrangement for another conversation and find out how the Green Man’s strength is growing and what’s happening. Is that okay with you?		33:28
90	A	Yes, I needed this. Thank you once again Penny and James
		END		34:56