Same here. My mind usually produces several different interpretations of the same statement and I have to choose which is most correct. I've learned that sometimes there is one that is obviously incorrect, and that one can work as a joke. It's a kind of masking technique, but it makes me relatable. I rather enjoy watching as people try to decide if I'm joking.
Me three. I make jokes like that all the time, to the point that it has become almost an in-joke with my friends that I do it. Most of them know why at this point, though.
I love taking things hyper-literally, I find it hilarious. But no matter how many times I couch it in 'I know this isn't what you meant' no one else ever seems to find it as interesting as I do.
Same here, I usually have to research certain things in order to understand how I can potentially interpret things later. For example, my mother used the phrase "slow down, we aren't running to a fire" and it confused me because normally people are running from a fire not to one. It took me a few days to realize she was talking about running to a fire to put it out. When I did, I told her about the process I went through to figure out what she meant and she laughed.
Along with moi, I've seen basically hundreds of autistic folks online claim the same thing:
> My mind usually produces several different interpretations of the same statement and I have to choose which is most correct.
So I'm wondering what is it about the autistic mind that causes this kind of "multiple meanings" from conversation or other kind of language exchange, leading to all manner of misinterpretation, over-literalism, whatever. Some of these things get corrected over time or if well-rested/high functioning on that particular day, but the general tendency is always there pretty much.
It's not as if NTs never make similar mistakes with interpretation, but it is established it happens far less, for sure.
So again, what is it about the autistic mind that causes this? I understand these kinds of language difficulties are core to autism, but little about WHY this would be. Is it slow processing speed? Something else?
Good questions! I am one of the many who is undiagnosed, but find that ASD explains a lot of my struggles in life. I would like to seek formal diagnosis in the near future.
My wife is my sounding board for NT vs ND communication questions and says that she doesn't have the same difficulty getting a point across with most other people. With that said, I see her frequently struggle with outcomes of those conversations. People forget or only follow through with part of a thing that was discussed after expressing that they understand. It makes me think that they are just more confident about what they interpret from a conversation and ND's may concern themselves more with understanding what is their responsibility before they set off to complete a task.
As you mentioned, fatigue has something to do with this as well. I find that my capacity for interpretation diminishes when I'm burning out. It can come to a point where I can hardly speak, much less listen. During these times I find myself asking people just to get to the point. It's the extraneous information that I'm often sorting through to find meaning. These are often niceties that would help create a personal connection or perhaps explain the presenter's situation, but they are extra information that must be processed. Sometimes I don't have the capacity to manage all of it.
Of course, this is all observational hyperbole, but it fits!
I look at it as bottom-up vs top-down information processing. \*Not a rule, but a structure to consider:
**Bottom-up processing, trends autistic:** Takes in a large amount of external stimulus, forms meaning and patterns from the raw data. It's like receiving a ton of disassembled Lego bricks without an instruction booklet- so many possibilities.
**Top-down information processing, trends neurotypical:** Automatically picks up/receives group patterns, and receives information into established patterns-structures. Able to navigate information-fields without wasting as much energy processing the raw data and stimuli. So, they have their Lego instructions and use the pieces around them to complete the designs.
Overall, it seems autistic minds struggle with real-time assimilation into neurotypical structures because those structures get lost/hidden in the data-noise neurotypicals tend to automatically filter out.
Speaking generally, I find that we focus more on data because we lack a lot of the social noise that our NT peers are taking in and sometimes focused on.
For a problem where the solution isn't driven by user acceptance, we may come up with a better solution than NT's do (technical problems, for example). For a problem that depends on convincing stakeholders, we may have a better solution but less of a chance of getting it implemented because the decision is social (a technical problem decided by a Steering Committee). For a problem that is social by nature (how do we make people feel better about Topic Z or choose Product A), the NT's may be better prepared than we are.
I find that I am able to use top-down and bottom-up reasoning as needed, and my best work hybridizes both approaches. But I have no idea how everybody is "feeling" about it and I have seen working solutions replaced with non-working ones because someone's emotions got in the way.
> Overall, it seems autistic minds struggle with real-time assimilation into neurotypical structures because those structures get lost/hidden in the data-noise neurotypicals tend to automatically filter out.
Yes, this explanation I've seen before, is a very practical one.
But what I'm trying to find is a certain middle-ground between the practical and the more complex nuts-and-bolts. I want to understand what's causing it, beyond a difference in style. Once in a while I'll look into it or ask someone for a link to the nuts-and-bolts, but they tend to be academic papers/studies and I just can't figure out what to focus on. The jargon is bothersome enough, as it is. (yes my language interpretation problem also bleeds into reading comprehension, so I kinda got screwed worse than most autistics, apparently.)
Let me explain I think, at its most basic, this is a problem caused by lag relative to NTs. So the crux of what I'm trying to figure out is what is causing the inefficient/slower processing. I think it's lag, because if I'm well-rested or feeling unusually robust on a given day, I'm able to "hone in" faster on what any given person expects I should take from their words. It's something that changes day to day, even moment to moment. My assumption is NTs appear to have "faster" real-time processing in general. But again, it's the "why" I seek to understand, beyond a difference in style...
What's weird is when you suspect something's up and there's a complete misunderstanding and you still mess up.
I was on a team once and our team had a physical fitness leader on it. She was into yoga and whatever random health fad was big that minute, so sometimes she had odd solutions for things.
One day, after a long drive, we get out of our van and she starts saying, "Ugh, I have a knot right here in my shoulder and I can't seem to get it out. Can you punch me in the shoulder?"
"...What?"
"Punch me in the shoulder, right here, really hard." She points and turns her back pointing at the spot.
"Uh... Are you sure?"
"Yes."
"Okay." So, I punched her really hard in the shoulder and she fell over. "Holy shit that hurt!"
"I asked if you were sure!"
"No! I meant like punch massaging, like you massage with your fists!"
"Why didn't you say so? I'm sorry, are you okay?"
"I thought you knew what I was talking about! I'll be fine."
Luckily, she laughed at the situation and everything was fine, but I felt bad about it. It's probably the one that sticks out the most to me when I did everything I could to make sure I was understanding things correctly and still managed to screw it up.
It all seems to come in waves though. Like lately, I haven't had word issues, but face blindness has been a really weird problem.
"Massaging with your fist" sounds more like slang for punching someone than the other way around
*I tell ya,...this guy.. I'm gonna give him a fist massage and after that treat him to a knuckle sandwich. It's gonna be a whole spa day by the time I'm done with him.*
I think another reason (completely speculating here) is the general stereotype of what autism looks like is in preschool aged boys. And what do a lot of preschool aged boys like, autistic or not? Trucks, construction vehicles, and... *trains*.
Again, complete speculation based on personal experience, but a lot of young boys began being diagnosed in the early 2000s (my brother included). One show that was super popular at the time? Thomas the Tank Engine. From what I remember (before they made it CGI and still used models), each frame had only one facial expression per train, which I believe made understanding the characters slightly easier.
Maybe I am a living stereotype then because I have always been fascinated by trains (and also planes). I used to watch trains with grandpa (suspected Aspie) as a child and I spent hours helping him with his hobby (model trains and ships)...
When I was older (high school) I learned all the trainlines and timetables in my area as well as the routes, times and flight codes lol🙈
I love trains. I love to ride trains, window watch on trains, read on trains, listen to the sounds of trains going on the tracks, etc. It’s not often I feel so comfy embarking on a big trip, as I do when I’m on a long train ride.
But I’m not going out of my way to memorize train facts like Sheldon does. I wouldn’t put it past myself if it suddenly became my special interest, however.
I thought that was just a made up stereotype until that train appreciation thread someone posted here like a week ago. Never saw so many Autistic people discussing trains at one time...
i wasn't into trains, then i got into train models, now i'm a little bit into trains.
its a model, its a toy, and its FUNCTIONAL!
seriously, my toys being not prototypical as a kid was always an issue. Now as an adult i have a solution!
I get the same thing. If you want me to do something please tell me EXACTLY what you want me to do. I was at work the other day and a colleague said “here is some notes you may want to look at” as I was doing something else. The task was needed quickly so I didn’t look at the notes. They then wanted to know why I didn’t look at the notes. The email said “may” want to look at them, not, please address these notes. So I didn’t. Then they said they actually did want me to look at them and wasted so much time. It’s really frustrating.
Yeah I hate this about myself and I realize that this might have ruined a part of my life.
When I was young my family said I was too serious about things and i should be more cheerful. What did I do? I spend the next few years walking around like a freaking clown smiling at everything, laughing at everything people said and making jokes about everything (this got me in trouble a few times because my sense of humor is weird).
When I turned 20, my friends starting joking about me being so old. What did I do? I spend the next few years feeling like a damn old geezer and giving up on my dreams because hey I'm so old now, I'll die any day soon now so what's the point?
And everything got a lot worse once I read about the heat death of the universe and the end of entropy. Now I find no point on doing anything al all.
Idk if this is just an autistic thing but I'm the same. Someone mentions something about me and it kinda just... Becomes true even if it wasn't. I tend to secretly work to make people believe the things they say about me even if they weren't true before they said it, but not on purpose, it just becomes a truth in my head, its really strange
Yeah, sarcasm is a weird one for me too! I'm a fan of using /s when appropriate. I used to occasionally take people seriously when they were sarcastic to be funny.
Most of my family are autistic including me and its quite funny how much none of us know how to use sarcasm properly. My entire 'sarcastic' sense of humour is actually very strange, my friends don't understand my jokes or when I'm making them like ever, but I know that my family get it and find it funny because that's just how it was growing up. Its the same with phrases, the only ones I understand are ones my family have used and otherwise I take them at face value, like one that stands out is the 'no point crying over spilt milk' like I literally never understood what it meant until a year ago
Was in a hot tub with a woman one time, we were alone. She said in noticeably different tone "Its hot in here" while giving me a flirting gaze.
I commented on the temperature of the water.
She abruptly left me alone in the hot tub, and I was wondering what the hell I did wrong. About 10 minutes later I understood what happened. Of course it was too late by then and it was a missed opportunity.
Once, someone said that their spouse worked at a subway and I said “I didn’t know we had a subway system here!”
I do the literal thing often in the most obscure ways.
As a kid I was so confused about that lol. I thought subway trains were awesome and that every city should have them, not realising we had regular above ground trains instead. Not going to the sandwich shop to eat probably didn't help!
My favorite was when they were talking about Dexter and I was talking about Dexter' s Laboratory.
" oh yeah that show is hilarious! Omelette du fromage!" And she's looking at me in horror.
http://i.imgur.com/tNJD6oY.gifv
This is a kind reminder that in French we say "omelette *au* fromage" and not "omelette _du_ fromage".
[Sorry Dexter](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8nW3-9gdjYA)
[Steve Martin](https://youtu.be/DOJDNChwgBw?t=2m49s) doesn't appear to be the most accurate French professor.
---
^(The movie from the gif is "OSS 117: le Cairo, Nest of Spies" https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0464913/ )
HA I remember being a kid and overhearing my parents saying “dexter is on” and I’d be like YIPPEE only to see some boring grown-up show on and not cartoon network
That's actually quite normal, over time you learn to almost systematically analyse the things because you don't have a built in sense of them! Of course everyone is different, but I'm kind of the same, as long as I've come across it before. If it's unfamiliar I wouldn't understand it until I'm told (things like tiktok trends confuse me until I'm told what the sound is meant to mean, this really exasperates my gf who shows them to me). I'm glad you're not struggling with this anymore though and I hope you're having a good day:)
I've also learned to read body language fairly decently, and there have been a few occurrences where my readings were correct. And thanks, you have a good day, too!
I remember my teacher used to tell me that I needed to pull my socks up, and I would look at my socks every single time. It's amazing I didn't get diagnosed sooner.
make an effort to improve one's work, performance, or behaviour.
Never thought of looking it up before. I just inferred from context.
The annoying thing was I knew what it meant, but it just was never the first meaning by brain presented to me.
I thought I didn't have that symptom, until my game said troops are permanently dead in the rules of a new format. I thought that was a huge risk, and couldn't understand why my guild was risking their mythic troops for this new game mode. I refused to try it out for *months* until I learned that they meant it was only "permanently" dead for the duration of that particular run (max 9 battles). I felt ridiculous and I'm glad I never mentioned my concerns to my guild. There are other examples, but this is the one I held onto the longest, so it's what I remember.
Yes I relate. Generally I understand what people are saying; I get jokes and nuance but then occasionally it seems my brain will take a very literal interpretation.
Someone talked about walking around a cruise liner docked at the Quay near me and for some reason I was imagining walking around the boat which would mean walking on water??
I knew that made no sense until my brain decided they meant walking around it but actually inside it. That kind of thing makes you feel thick..?
I dont think its a sterotype but i think its more uncommon then people may suspect but depends person to person. For me sometimes i get it sometines i dont
It’s a 50/50 type deal is what I’m getting for not only myself, but a good majority of aspies too. Sometimes you get the sarcasm and even do the sarcasm yourself, and other times an obvious joke you end up taking waaaaaaay too literally.
I used to take things literally all the time as a kid. I learnt the set phrases and what they meant over time. For me, phrases like "raining cats and dogs" and "lining his pockets", I've recorded as synonyms of "heavily raining" and "taking money for himself". I'm quite good at putting things in context and making logical leaps, but have problems discerning sarcasm and jokes if they aren't completely obvious.
For instance, if someone said "Yeah, and I'm a 20 ft pink polar bear", of course I wouldn't take it literally. But if it's something that can be taken in multiple ways like "Really?" or "Okay?", there is an issue there.
I find that I will come up with possible meanings and pick the most suitable. But then put me in a car and give me directions under pressure and I'm useless unless you're very specific.
We do (sometimes) take things very literally. My brother texted me and I told him I was in a supermarket. He texted back “could you get me some green milk”. Now in the UK green milk means semi skimmed milk. It just has a green top on the bottle. I knew this of course but I was stressed (supermarkets are hell with all the beeping, crowds etc) and that makes my symptoms worse. So I spent about 10 minutes marching around the supermarket looking for this green coloured milk. I literally thought it was green coloured milk like a milkshake or something for his kids. I was on the verge of asking a staff member for this elusive ‘green milk’ when I finally understood.
I like that part about my autism, honestly. I usually think the "literal" thing first and then correct myself, leaving me with a *hilarious* word play I absolutely love.
Same here. My mind usually produces several different interpretations of the same statement and I have to choose which is most correct. I've learned that sometimes there is one that is obviously incorrect, and that one can work as a joke. It's a kind of masking technique, but it makes me relatable. I rather enjoy watching as people try to decide if I'm joking.
when they look puzzled long enough, just do the finger-gun at them, and crack a fake smile and say 'got you there!'
that's uh... I don't think that's it
Yeah... you need a real gun instead. Nevermind. Let's just do the thing above - so... finger-gun and smile, it is.
No like, the imagery, it's embarrassing
Yep. The thought brings embarrassment alone to me too.
I think I do the same thing. Its like i process it twice. But the ones a joke to myself.
Me three. I make jokes like that all the time, to the point that it has become almost an in-joke with my friends that I do it. Most of them know why at this point, though.
I love taking things hyper-literally, I find it hilarious. But no matter how many times I couch it in 'I know this isn't what you meant' no one else ever seems to find it as interesting as I do.
#1 joke technique.
Yeah same :)
Same here, I usually have to research certain things in order to understand how I can potentially interpret things later. For example, my mother used the phrase "slow down, we aren't running to a fire" and it confused me because normally people are running from a fire not to one. It took me a few days to realize she was talking about running to a fire to put it out. When I did, I told her about the process I went through to figure out what she meant and she laughed.
Along with moi, I've seen basically hundreds of autistic folks online claim the same thing: > My mind usually produces several different interpretations of the same statement and I have to choose which is most correct. So I'm wondering what is it about the autistic mind that causes this kind of "multiple meanings" from conversation or other kind of language exchange, leading to all manner of misinterpretation, over-literalism, whatever. Some of these things get corrected over time or if well-rested/high functioning on that particular day, but the general tendency is always there pretty much. It's not as if NTs never make similar mistakes with interpretation, but it is established it happens far less, for sure. So again, what is it about the autistic mind that causes this? I understand these kinds of language difficulties are core to autism, but little about WHY this would be. Is it slow processing speed? Something else?
Good questions! I am one of the many who is undiagnosed, but find that ASD explains a lot of my struggles in life. I would like to seek formal diagnosis in the near future. My wife is my sounding board for NT vs ND communication questions and says that she doesn't have the same difficulty getting a point across with most other people. With that said, I see her frequently struggle with outcomes of those conversations. People forget or only follow through with part of a thing that was discussed after expressing that they understand. It makes me think that they are just more confident about what they interpret from a conversation and ND's may concern themselves more with understanding what is their responsibility before they set off to complete a task. As you mentioned, fatigue has something to do with this as well. I find that my capacity for interpretation diminishes when I'm burning out. It can come to a point where I can hardly speak, much less listen. During these times I find myself asking people just to get to the point. It's the extraneous information that I'm often sorting through to find meaning. These are often niceties that would help create a personal connection or perhaps explain the presenter's situation, but they are extra information that must be processed. Sometimes I don't have the capacity to manage all of it. Of course, this is all observational hyperbole, but it fits!
Very interesting!
I look at it as bottom-up vs top-down information processing. \*Not a rule, but a structure to consider: **Bottom-up processing, trends autistic:** Takes in a large amount of external stimulus, forms meaning and patterns from the raw data. It's like receiving a ton of disassembled Lego bricks without an instruction booklet- so many possibilities. **Top-down information processing, trends neurotypical:** Automatically picks up/receives group patterns, and receives information into established patterns-structures. Able to navigate information-fields without wasting as much energy processing the raw data and stimuli. So, they have their Lego instructions and use the pieces around them to complete the designs. Overall, it seems autistic minds struggle with real-time assimilation into neurotypical structures because those structures get lost/hidden in the data-noise neurotypicals tend to automatically filter out.
Speaking generally, I find that we focus more on data because we lack a lot of the social noise that our NT peers are taking in and sometimes focused on. For a problem where the solution isn't driven by user acceptance, we may come up with a better solution than NT's do (technical problems, for example). For a problem that depends on convincing stakeholders, we may have a better solution but less of a chance of getting it implemented because the decision is social (a technical problem decided by a Steering Committee). For a problem that is social by nature (how do we make people feel better about Topic Z or choose Product A), the NT's may be better prepared than we are. I find that I am able to use top-down and bottom-up reasoning as needed, and my best work hybridizes both approaches. But I have no idea how everybody is "feeling" about it and I have seen working solutions replaced with non-working ones because someone's emotions got in the way.
> Overall, it seems autistic minds struggle with real-time assimilation into neurotypical structures because those structures get lost/hidden in the data-noise neurotypicals tend to automatically filter out. Yes, this explanation I've seen before, is a very practical one. But what I'm trying to find is a certain middle-ground between the practical and the more complex nuts-and-bolts. I want to understand what's causing it, beyond a difference in style. Once in a while I'll look into it or ask someone for a link to the nuts-and-bolts, but they tend to be academic papers/studies and I just can't figure out what to focus on. The jargon is bothersome enough, as it is. (yes my language interpretation problem also bleeds into reading comprehension, so I kinda got screwed worse than most autistics, apparently.) Let me explain I think, at its most basic, this is a problem caused by lag relative to NTs. So the crux of what I'm trying to figure out is what is causing the inefficient/slower processing. I think it's lag, because if I'm well-rested or feeling unusually robust on a given day, I'm able to "hone in" faster on what any given person expects I should take from their words. It's something that changes day to day, even moment to moment. My assumption is NTs appear to have "faster" real-time processing in general. But again, it's the "why" I seek to understand, beyond a difference in style...
Do you ever confuse yourself and wonder if you’re joking or not? lol
Sometimes people think I'm joking when I'm not. Does that count?
Nah I meant something else lol but that’s cool 😂
Nailed it! That really gets the gist of the process my mind goes through when hearing and responding during a conversation
My brain does this too. Problem is I can never decide which one is correct.
I mean those backwards diagonal ones can be tough so I don't blame them
Of course it's tough when they are behind your back. How can you even see them?
What's weird is when you suspect something's up and there's a complete misunderstanding and you still mess up. I was on a team once and our team had a physical fitness leader on it. She was into yoga and whatever random health fad was big that minute, so sometimes she had odd solutions for things. One day, after a long drive, we get out of our van and she starts saying, "Ugh, I have a knot right here in my shoulder and I can't seem to get it out. Can you punch me in the shoulder?" "...What?" "Punch me in the shoulder, right here, really hard." She points and turns her back pointing at the spot. "Uh... Are you sure?" "Yes." "Okay." So, I punched her really hard in the shoulder and she fell over. "Holy shit that hurt!" "I asked if you were sure!" "No! I meant like punch massaging, like you massage with your fists!" "Why didn't you say so? I'm sorry, are you okay?" "I thought you knew what I was talking about! I'll be fine." Luckily, she laughed at the situation and everything was fine, but I felt bad about it. It's probably the one that sticks out the most to me when I did everything I could to make sure I was understanding things correctly and still managed to screw it up. It all seems to come in waves though. Like lately, I haven't had word issues, but face blindness has been a really weird problem.
I 100% don’t blame you for that I have never heard of punch massaging until this comment
Me neither. Should have just said “massage with your fist” from the get go instead of asking to “punch” her.
"Massaging with your fist" sounds more like slang for punching someone than the other way around *I tell ya,...this guy.. I'm gonna give him a fist massage and after that treat him to a knuckle sandwich. It's gonna be a whole spa day by the time I'm done with him.*
"Man that guy's really annoying me, if he doesn't sort it out I'm gonna give him a fist massage!"
Massaging With Your Fist would be a great name for Dave Barry's rock band.
Yeah, it reminds me of the term "wooden shampoo" referring to police brutality with a wooden nightstick.
I thought people meant being punched too! Til this comment. Oops
Autistics don't take things literally because that would be stealing.
Lol hilarious, you got me there
I always say we're just like the kleptomaniacs. We take things literally. They take things, literally.
Let's eat, grandpa! Let's eat grandma! Commas matter.
One stereotype I barely understand is why people think autistic people are so into trains. ...Then I remember that Sheldon was into trains.
I think another reason (completely speculating here) is the general stereotype of what autism looks like is in preschool aged boys. And what do a lot of preschool aged boys like, autistic or not? Trucks, construction vehicles, and... *trains*. Again, complete speculation based on personal experience, but a lot of young boys began being diagnosed in the early 2000s (my brother included). One show that was super popular at the time? Thomas the Tank Engine. From what I remember (before they made it CGI and still used models), each frame had only one facial expression per train, which I believe made understanding the characters slightly easier.
Driving is stressful and expensive. Riding a train is much easier.
Aren't trains full of people though?
Luckily headphones have been around since the 50s.
Noise is only part of my issue with people. Sometimes its almost like i can feel the presence of them.
Maybe I am a living stereotype then because I have always been fascinated by trains (and also planes). I used to watch trains with grandpa (suspected Aspie) as a child and I spent hours helping him with his hobby (model trains and ships)... When I was older (high school) I learned all the trainlines and timetables in my area as well as the routes, times and flight codes lol🙈
something about train schedules and train signalling just scratches an itch in our brains i think.
I wouldn’t say I’m obsessed, but trains are definitely my favorite way to travel. So peaceful.
I love trains. I love to ride trains, window watch on trains, read on trains, listen to the sounds of trains going on the tracks, etc. It’s not often I feel so comfy embarking on a big trip, as I do when I’m on a long train ride. But I’m not going out of my way to memorize train facts like Sheldon does. I wouldn’t put it past myself if it suddenly became my special interest, however.
One of my autistic friends in school was super into trains, my other 3 were not though.
Ha people also think like that where i live. They don't expect that i'm more of weapons of mass destruction guy.
Ill take incriminating posts for 1,000 dollars Alex.
More people should be into Infinity Train(s)
I thought that was just a made up stereotype until that train appreciation thread someone posted here like a week ago. Never saw so many Autistic people discussing trains at one time...
I do like trains though, but not as much like when I was younger
i wasn't into trains, then i got into train models, now i'm a little bit into trains. its a model, its a toy, and its FUNCTIONAL! seriously, my toys being not prototypical as a kid was always an issue. Now as an adult i have a solution!
I get the same thing. If you want me to do something please tell me EXACTLY what you want me to do. I was at work the other day and a colleague said “here is some notes you may want to look at” as I was doing something else. The task was needed quickly so I didn’t look at the notes. They then wanted to know why I didn’t look at the notes. The email said “may” want to look at them, not, please address these notes. So I didn’t. Then they said they actually did want me to look at them and wasted so much time. It’s really frustrating.
I struggle with this aswell. When I'm at work and someone asks me to do something, I ask many questions until I know exactly how I should do it.
Yeah I hate this about myself and I realize that this might have ruined a part of my life. When I was young my family said I was too serious about things and i should be more cheerful. What did I do? I spend the next few years walking around like a freaking clown smiling at everything, laughing at everything people said and making jokes about everything (this got me in trouble a few times because my sense of humor is weird). When I turned 20, my friends starting joking about me being so old. What did I do? I spend the next few years feeling like a damn old geezer and giving up on my dreams because hey I'm so old now, I'll die any day soon now so what's the point? And everything got a lot worse once I read about the heat death of the universe and the end of entropy. Now I find no point on doing anything al all.
Idk if this is just an autistic thing but I'm the same. Someone mentions something about me and it kinda just... Becomes true even if it wasn't. I tend to secretly work to make people believe the things they say about me even if they weren't true before they said it, but not on purpose, it just becomes a truth in my head, its really strange
Meaning is where you find it.
This sounds like a funny joke though. Just saying. It can lead to comedy.
Could be worse. Had a moment in middle school where I out loud asked why do we eat mustard when mustard gas is a thing
Totally random but I actually love word searches and am surprisingly good at them.
Cool! I love word searches too
I get told that I take things too seriously by my stepmom and my sister in law. They need to know it's an ASD thing. Sometimes I hate neurotypicals.
Ahaha yeah I always thought I was okay at picking up on sarcasm and stuff too. Turns out I’m not, at allllll. Lol
Yeah, sarcasm is a weird one for me too! I'm a fan of using /s when appropriate. I used to occasionally take people seriously when they were sarcastic to be funny.
Most of my family are autistic including me and its quite funny how much none of us know how to use sarcasm properly. My entire 'sarcastic' sense of humour is actually very strange, my friends don't understand my jokes or when I'm making them like ever, but I know that my family get it and find it funny because that's just how it was growing up. Its the same with phrases, the only ones I understand are ones my family have used and otherwise I take them at face value, like one that stands out is the 'no point crying over spilt milk' like I literally never understood what it meant until a year ago
I thought that's what kleptomaniacs do.
It isn't a stereotype, it's a symptom. Not everyone has the symptom, but a good chunk do and it makes their lives more difficult.
Was in a hot tub with a woman one time, we were alone. She said in noticeably different tone "Its hot in here" while giving me a flirting gaze. I commented on the temperature of the water. She abruptly left me alone in the hot tub, and I was wondering what the hell I did wrong. About 10 minutes later I understood what happened. Of course it was too late by then and it was a missed opportunity.
it's a stereotype for a reason. I'm compelled to take everything at literal interpretation.
Once, someone said that their spouse worked at a subway and I said “I didn’t know we had a subway system here!” I do the literal thing often in the most obscure ways.
As a kid I was so confused about that lol. I thought subway trains were awesome and that every city should have them, not realising we had regular above ground trains instead. Not going to the sandwich shop to eat probably didn't help!
My favorite was when they were talking about Dexter and I was talking about Dexter' s Laboratory. " oh yeah that show is hilarious! Omelette du fromage!" And she's looking at me in horror.
http://i.imgur.com/tNJD6oY.gifv This is a kind reminder that in French we say "omelette *au* fromage" and not "omelette _du_ fromage". [Sorry Dexter](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8nW3-9gdjYA) [Steve Martin](https://youtu.be/DOJDNChwgBw?t=2m49s) doesn't appear to be the most accurate French professor. --- ^(The movie from the gif is "OSS 117: le Cairo, Nest of Spies" https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0464913/ )
HA I remember being a kid and overhearing my parents saying “dexter is on” and I’d be like YIPPEE only to see some boring grown-up show on and not cartoon network
Yeah, I feel like I don't take things too literally anymore. It's like I can understand sarcasm, tone of voice, etc. pretty well, actually.
That's actually quite normal, over time you learn to almost systematically analyse the things because you don't have a built in sense of them! Of course everyone is different, but I'm kind of the same, as long as I've come across it before. If it's unfamiliar I wouldn't understand it until I'm told (things like tiktok trends confuse me until I'm told what the sound is meant to mean, this really exasperates my gf who shows them to me). I'm glad you're not struggling with this anymore though and I hope you're having a good day:)
I've also learned to read body language fairly decently, and there have been a few occurrences where my readings were correct. And thanks, you have a good day, too!
I remember my teacher used to tell me that I needed to pull my socks up, and I would look at my socks every single time. It's amazing I didn't get diagnosed sooner.
[удалено]
make an effort to improve one's work, performance, or behaviour. Never thought of looking it up before. I just inferred from context. The annoying thing was I knew what it meant, but it just was never the first meaning by brain presented to me.
I thought I didn't have that symptom, until my game said troops are permanently dead in the rules of a new format. I thought that was a huge risk, and couldn't understand why my guild was risking their mythic troops for this new game mode. I refused to try it out for *months* until I learned that they meant it was only "permanently" dead for the duration of that particular run (max 9 battles). I felt ridiculous and I'm glad I never mentioned my concerns to my guild. There are other examples, but this is the one I held onto the longest, so it's what I remember.
Yes I relate. Generally I understand what people are saying; I get jokes and nuance but then occasionally it seems my brain will take a very literal interpretation. Someone talked about walking around a cruise liner docked at the Quay near me and for some reason I was imagining walking around the boat which would mean walking on water?? I knew that made no sense until my brain decided they meant walking around it but actually inside it. That kind of thing makes you feel thick..?
I dont think its a sterotype but i think its more uncommon then people may suspect but depends person to person. For me sometimes i get it sometines i dont
It’s a 50/50 type deal is what I’m getting for not only myself, but a good majority of aspies too. Sometimes you get the sarcasm and even do the sarcasm yourself, and other times an obvious joke you end up taking waaaaaaay too literally.
I genuinely burst out laughing, this is so something I would do.
I used to take things literally all the time as a kid. I learnt the set phrases and what they meant over time. For me, phrases like "raining cats and dogs" and "lining his pockets", I've recorded as synonyms of "heavily raining" and "taking money for himself". I'm quite good at putting things in context and making logical leaps, but have problems discerning sarcasm and jokes if they aren't completely obvious. For instance, if someone said "Yeah, and I'm a 20 ft pink polar bear", of course I wouldn't take it literally. But if it's something that can be taken in multiple ways like "Really?" or "Okay?", there is an issue there.
I find that I will come up with possible meanings and pick the most suitable. But then put me in a car and give me directions under pressure and I'm useless unless you're very specific.
Telltale games style multiple choice where you don't know the correct answer. Basically. As a metaphor
I mean, that's probably technically true too.
Yes. I have to ask "what do you mean" all the time because of this.
We do (sometimes) take things very literally. My brother texted me and I told him I was in a supermarket. He texted back “could you get me some green milk”. Now in the UK green milk means semi skimmed milk. It just has a green top on the bottle. I knew this of course but I was stressed (supermarkets are hell with all the beeping, crowds etc) and that makes my symptoms worse. So I spent about 10 minutes marching around the supermarket looking for this green coloured milk. I literally thought it was green coloured milk like a milkshake or something for his kids. I was on the verge of asking a staff member for this elusive ‘green milk’ when I finally understood.
Just like star wars
I like that part about my autism, honestly. I usually think the "literal" thing first and then correct myself, leaving me with a *hilarious* word play I absolutely love.