Autism as context blindness introduction

This shirt animated video explains the concept of context blindness in around 2 minutes...

[@cloudsingh3147]

That is not a drop of water rather a picture of a drop of water. Freshly cut onion makes peoples eyes water not onion soup. Yup, you're NT alright. 😊

[@johnridout6540]

Ceci n'est pas une goutte d'eau.

[@linden5165]

I'm autistic and had similar thoughts about the soup :D

[@linden5165]

Uncertainty...or open-mindedness and not jumping to conclusions? I think it does mean we do more processing, but not jumping to as many conclusions or being confidently wrong is a strength too. I didn't even automatically see a drop of water, but a drop of clear liquid - which could be so many things!

[@pedrovermeulen]

Thanks for the reaction. The last chapter of my book contains information about the strengths of field independence in solving problems. And in my newest book I describe how the absolute thinking in autism can sometimes be an advantage for certain tasks.

[@almisami]

More importantly, it's a drop of clear liquid *in motion*.

[@ADHDDude]

Dr. Vermeulen this is a fantastic video, thank you! I will be using it in a presentation where I show your book and explain the concept.

[@maclpl]

I really enjoyed the book. It allowed me to make many links with tons of linguistic concepts. I particularly enjoyed the reframing of the theory of mind as a problem of contextualization and sorting of the relevant clues rather than a sheer inability to understand others’ feelings and having empathy. It is way less debilitating when presented this way. I will definitely look into more of your work.

[@carolclare1281]

Please do a conference in dublin peter 🇮🇪

[@lisedenmark]

The main problem with neurotypicals is CERTAINTY. They tend to think that their “smart guesses” are more than that. They tend to think that their guess is not a guess but a statement of facts. Autistics tend not to make that mistake and keep options open. What can we do to help the neurotypicals to have a mind more open to the lesser obvious possibilities in life?

[@pedrovermeulen]

You are right, Lise. As long as we all realize that our guesses are but guesses, then we are open to other perspectives. Both neurotypicals and autistic people can learn from each other mistakes.

[@lisedenmark]

@@pedrovermeulen I just wish that this equal “learning from each other” was more prominent in your work and that of others. It is quite depressing - as an autistic - always to read about the difficulties autistic people have and how WE are always the ones in need of learning something to help us navigate the world. It would be a great help to begin with if we we treated and described as equals. We can teach you guys a thing or two - every time you can teach us something. :-) (Thank you for taking the time to respond, though. I didn’t expect that.) #actuallyautistic

[@pedrovermeulen]

@@lisedenmark you probably only have access to English work of me. I was one of the first ones to write about autistic strengths in 1996 but you may not know that work in Dutch. I wrote more than 15 books. And many of my writings involve examples of autistic people. At the moment I am running An ambassador project with 30 autistic people. So, I am constantly working together with autistic people. I can imagine you don't know about all of that and that this affects your ideas about me.

[@lisedenmark]

@@pedrovermeulen Well, you are right. I haven’t read your full body of work. Far from it. But what I have read of your newer/translated material - or heard/seen - sometimes saddens me (or even angers me) and has been part of my decision to almost quit going into materials about autism made by non-autistic writers/researcers/“experts”. It is good to hear that you have written about autistic strength in 1996 but that doesn’t really do autistics like me much good in 2022 if a respect and accept of our special contribution to the world doesn’t really shine through in your later work. I don’t think it does. So I try to spare myself from the sinking feeling I very often get when I read how autism is explained from the outside in. I find it kind of a shame that I find it necessary to “protect” myself this way because I really am all for dialogue and listening to voices of other opinions than my/our own. (How about trying to let those 30 autistic people run the ambassador project? And you take a role of supporting and following them?! That would show you as a true ally to autistics… 😉)

[@pedrovermeulen]

@@lisedenmark I am an ally. And that's not me stating that, but those 30 ambassadors who I support. Over here in Belgium we don't polarize and try to avoid the us versus them, which I see more and more in the autism field. Autistics and on-autistics are partners over here in Belgium. For instance, in the movie 'Mensen met autisme helpen' (Helping autistic people helping), a movie I made with autistic people, it was my autistic colleagues who decided the content. We collaborate, all in the spirit of neuroharmony, the topic of my newest works (Autisme is niet blauw, de smurfen wel / Autisme en geluk / Voorspellende brein).

[@mikeh1245]

I want that book

[@jss1213]

Why did you choose women to shed a tear?

[@pedrovermeulen]

Was the only drawing available in that clipart collection, so not really a choice...