Autism Thinking - It Goes Like This

[@tangerinefizz11]

I wasn't diagnosed with autism until I was an adult. There's something I said when I was a kid that I'm really ashamed of now. When I was 11, my aunt had a baby who only lived for a few hours after he was born. I had an interest in decomposing bodies back then, and one day I told my aunt my little cousin was decomposing in the ground! All of the adults were horrified! I didn't say it out of spite, though. I was merely making an observation that I found interesting. And before anyone calls me a psychopath, I want to mention that I cried when my cousin died! I really was sad, so I'm not some unfeeling monster.

[@autismsomeassemblyrequired5657]

There's no need to be ashamed of something your 11 year old self said. We've all said and done things that we look back on with regret.

[@SnappyWasHere]

Same thing here. All through childhood I said all sorts of totally socially inappropriate things like that. At my own dad’s funeral I poked at his body like it was a science experiment when I was 9 and I never cried. I had no supportive family so it was just punishment. My life was just a mental book of behaviors that was acceptable in situations. Never once did anyone say I was autistic, found out on my own at 46.

[@victoryamartin9773]

I'm Autistic, and I have no problem with what you said. Your observation was truth. Nothing wrong with that.

[@BL-sd2qw]

​@@autismsomeassemblyrequired5657 People don't choose how they feel, unless we are talking about fake performances.

[@bunnyboo6295]

Sounds like something I might have said as a kid I get it

[@aphotic_grae]

I'm autistic and I couldn't make it halfway through this video. The sound effects, the different volumes, the interjections that derail the content, the premise that "they" don't understand things the way "we" do... Did it occur to you that autistic people might watch this?

[@autismsomeassemblyrequired5657]

Please accept our deepest apologies for offending you. The purpose of this page was to help educate others regarding the traits of those with autism. We fully understand that each human is unique in their own way. We sincerely appreciate your response and input.

[@discordiangod]

I don't think it was; I think the targeted audience was probably neurotypical people, not us. Although Im not hypersensitive in the slightest, I can at least defend the last point with: if we constantly try to hash out the proper way of saying things, nothing will ever get said effectively enough to get the message across. Hes just using the best vernacular for the job, offensive as it may be.

[@Ann963]

Same, I couldn’t believe they started it with the sound of a blender!!! 😱

[@Ann963]

@@autismsomeassemblyrequired5657hire multiple autistic consultants to review your videos ❤

[@pampstamp]

You made it past the first 20 seconds?

[@markdeffebach8112]

The idea of autistics using black and white thinking is flawed. I am nearly always perplexed by all the possible meanings a neurotypical person may mean when they say something. Some how other neurotypicals see only one possible meaning. I feel like most neurotypicals are grossly ambiguous in their speech. How do I pick the particular shade of gray that a neurotypical intends when speaking as if they were speaking plainly in black and white language? I feel like neurotypicals wear blinders that prevent them from seeing all the shades of gray in what they say, then they ridicule those who point out their imprecise speach by asking for clarification. 😢

[@siyashilla6885]

Females move the same way . They keep it vague because they want to insult you without it being obvious

[@aphotic_grae]

This is such a good way to describe it.

[@Szan-40]

Exactly how I feel. They talk so imprecisely and it doesn't bother them. Then I ask for clarification because their words had multiple meanings and they get annoyed by it.

[@MWear-x8t]

That is exactly it. An example might be how I like to do something properly. If I am cutting vegetables and am told to cut them "small", I ask for a specific measurement since small is relative and could mean a few sizes.

[@furjin9805]

​​@@MWear-x8texactly, and then you start and figure out that when you make it 20% bigger, you get there much quicker. Being a black and white thinker, you have established that the particular size is "the best size". The person may have just made a (careless) suggestion. But you stick to the size, I bet.

[@BL-sd2qw]

Autistics talk directly without all the mind-games present in pragmatics embedded by hierarchical societies because they cannot encode and decode them instinctively. Every time mental health professionals talk about getting rid of toxic gender roles, talking honestly and directly, not being passive-aggressive, not labelling people and being driven by judgments, etc. as the best way of communication, they are saying that autistic communication is the best way of communication. Yet, the western mental health field keeps on insisting that it's a disorder. Idk. Seems like systemic DARVO to me.

[@whirlypop313]

Sounds about accurate to me. This video was so biased towards neurotypicals and felt pretty wrong in some parts. Just innacurate and could have been avoided had this information come from an autistic person and their actual experience. Its offensive but im used to it.

[@BL-sd2qw]

@whirlypop313 💯😭🫂

[@hassanmiah2139]

Present in pragmatics Doesn’t make grammatical sense

[@BL-sd2qw]

@@whirlypop313 🫂❤️

[@indiakxoxo]

I’m not autistic that I’m aware of. There’s speculation though. But I’ve noticed this thinking. And had a conversation with my boyfriend about it. I told him things in society be more productive and less time consuming if we stayed away from things like having to read between lines and understand when someone is being sarcastic and when they aren’t etc. it just seems like piss poor communication to me. Just say what you mean. Mean what you say. Or at least identify when you’re being sarcastic. I don’t know.

[@johnolamide6469]

I remember when I peed myself in class because the teacher didn't want anybody else going out to ease themselves. I was 6. A lot of students were asking to ease themselves and the teacher started to think they just wanted to escape the class and go play. So she forbade anybody else. I heard that and thought there was no other choice. When she realized, she was like why didn't you tell me. I'm not diagnosed yet, but what baffles me about normies is how they go blaming you for obeying their instructions when it fails instead of acknowledging that it lacked foresight. As to what made me pee on myself- fear, nutured by the previous blames when you tried disobeying.

[@cardboardbox191]

I'm also baffled.

[@cardboardbox191]

@@feast__ There should be some kind of rule that you can go to the loo if you like but you get a detention if the teacher doesn't like it. Detention for bad loo planning or something.

[@2bfrank657]

Even outside of school many rules are like this. Things are banned that shouldn't be, but then such bans are not really enforced. You're meant to second guess every rule and offend a little, but not too much.

[@Noble-Nova]

I did this when I was 5 too. Same situation. I never liked disobeying.

[@hassanmiah2139]

lack of self awareness in that exact moment? She might have changed her ways after realising

[@aleksandrajeka2960]

When I was 6, we were supposed to draw a picture as homework once. The teacher said the assignment is "the view from my window". I was wondering how am I supposed to know the view from her window ... I don't know where she lives. But then I thought that no one in the class knew and the whole point was to imagine the possible views from our teacher's window 😅 (diagnosed at age 29♡)

[@GuacamoleKun]

When I was maybe 7, my mom told me "Don't tell your friend Emi she's adopted, she might not know". And I was like ????? why would you think I had that information to begin with? Who would have told me? Years later I understood that Emi was Asian and her parents were white, and that people give birth to children that look like they do. But at 7, I had never had a biology class. Kids don't just know these things! Nothing to do with autism.

[@constancematthews3834]

I once ate an entire loaf of bread because I wasn't allowed to leave my seat till I finished my homework while I was left home alone. I was awful at math, so couldn't finish without help at 11 or 12 y/o. NO ONE thought to look into why anyone would do that. Over 30 years later, I've only recently been able to self-identify my autism. I still don't think my family fully believes my assessment. I'm just glad I used the bathroom before sitting down!

[@sholomoone]

it also happened to me. i was terrible at math (still am and still feel like shit because of it) and one day my dad put me on a chair a bit far from my house and tell me not to get out of it until i finished it. it was near my aunt's house. i cried so much she came out and took me out of the chair

[@drachnae]

This video does a lot of things right, namely by not pathologizing autistic ways of thinking. However, this video repeatedly frames these differences as a lack of understanding in autistic folks of neurotypical ways of thinking and communicating. Such framing is an example of neuronormativity, i.e., the centering and normalization of neurotypical ways of being. For this reason, it would have been better to frame these differences as, well, exactly that: differences. The misunderstandings that result from communication and thinking differences between autistic and neurotypical folks is a problem that cuts equally in both directions, and should be represented as such. Thank you for your commitment to spreading awareness about autism. I hope my feedback provides insight that you will find helpful in continuing this important work.

[@mjolnir3309]

I agree and i would add that i don't like the idea that autistic people don't or can't think in the abstract or that our thinkingis black and white. It may be true for some, but i feel it's a gross oversimplification. The way i try to describe my "black and white" mentality is that i understand and am well aware that everything is a shade of grey. However, we can break that into two groups, dark grey and light grey. I label these categories by their most extreme examples for simplicity : black and white. This does not mean we miss the nuance or abstractness of the subject matter. In fact, I'd say we are hyper aware of it. Most of the time, I'm trying to find a reasonable and logical place to draw that line of demarcation while people are telling me that I'm just thinking in terms of black and white. In my experience and belief, we don't really have issues with abstract or concrete thoughts or concepts, we like to categorize. If you tell me there is a grey area all i hear is that there needs to be a third category. I'm fine with that, but to just tell me it's a spectrum without explaning how that is a better viewpoint for purposes of our discussion is meaningless to me.

[@drachnae]

@@mjolnir3309 Excellent addition! In my exploration of autism research, I’ve often found that “abstract thinking” functions as a messy catch-all category referring to things like metaphorical thinking, top-down thinking, social cognition, etc. Of course, for many autistic people, these are not strengths. However, there are many other things that could be called “abstract thinking” - logical analysis, mathematics, pattern recognition, etc. - which many autistic people excel at. It’s problematic, to say the least, to claim that autistic people are lacking in abstract thought.

[@mjolnir3309]

@drachnae yeah, it's a broad category, and often, there isn't a good sense of what is meant. I don't think it's fair to say autistic people have issues, in general, with even the more common aspects. I think the issue is more communicating these thoughts and understanding that we are expected to see things in a certain way. For instance, with metaphors, maybe it's not the case that we can't think that way, but that we also think of the literal interpretation as well. Most metaphors are poor analogies for the subject and have many possible meanings. I know i often get lost in this, especially when metaphors are used incorrectly. E.g. it's only a few bad apples. Are you talking about actual apples? If so, where are they, and why are they bad, and how is this relevant? If not, what are you referring to as the apples? How is that bad? Do you mean literally rotten, or is that also metaphorical rot? Is the situation bad? Are the things bad? Is this sarcasm or satire? Most importantly, did they intentionally leave off "spoil the bunch" or did they not know that's part of the phrase and are misusing it? Easy to get overwhelmed by this and just pick one, probably the literal one since it has the advantage of being what was actually said. Thus, we look like we can't think that way, but perhaps it's just a case of not understanding wth people are trying to say. Sorry, rough day. Hope this isn't harsh or something.

[@drachnae]

@@mjolnir3309 Not harsh at all! I find it thought-provoking and engaging. I think you might be gesturing at a fundamental issue here: autism research has generally failed to define symptoms of autism in ways that are coherent and in alignment with reality, largely because said research does not generally do a good job of incorporating autistic people’s first-person descriptions of their own perspectives. As an autistic person myself, this is immensely frustrating to me too. I greatly appreciate you taking the time to share your own perspective. Hope your day gets better.

[@paulgavian90]

​@@drachnaeIve never been diagnosed, but man I love EVERYTHING about black holes...or course other take it diff. It's funny how they can misunderstand us because we have trouble connecting with them

[@idlikemoreprivacy9716]

Did you notice the vacuum noise, out of tune guitar and artificial high pitch voice are usually triggering for people on the spectrum?

[@theeguy9022]

even as someone with autism this is pretty informative and useful only thing id change about this is the volume of music at the end its a pretty big change from the rest of the video

[@autismsomeassemblyrequired5657]

I appreciate the feedback! I'm still not very good at filming and editing, but I'm working on it. Great tip!

[@theeguy9022]

@@autismsomeassemblyrequired5657 nah your style is great and it's very well explained with alot of relatable parts

[@MimiteMarion]

Thank you!! 22 years, diagnosed at 21 and someone finally gets it

[@frohnatur9806]

As a potential (because undiagnosed) autistic, this was hard to watch, not just because of the sped-up/pitch-shifted voices that were really annoying to me, but because I think some aspects of autism were badly represented, and probably misunderstood to some degree. Autistics are often ESPECIALLY GOOD at abstract thinking, which you said they're incapable of. By that I mean understanding abstract systemized concepts, like molecules, or scientific models in general, because they consist of clear cut rules. I think autistics are also especially good at thinking of if/when scenarios, as in causality. What they're not good at, is picking up on unspoken rules, like in your example, realizing that a fire alarm introduces an exception to the very rigidly communicated rule "never get up during an exam". That makes it seem like autistics don't understand such exceptions. They DO understand, however, IF they're told. What they're also not good at, is guessing from the often complex context which meanings of words the speaker means (literal thinking). Like when somebody asks "are you and your brother close?", it's not necessarily obvious to them that the speaker is talking about a metaphorical emotional distance, rather than a physical one. The latter example is what many people might call "abstract", but I think that descriptor is potentially misleading (as I've pointed out above), and a better one would be - as I've used it - "metaphorical" So all in all I think it comes down to 1) autistics being very focused on and usually quite good at understanding rules (not just social, but scientific, mathematical and all kinds of rules), and 2) autistics being bad at recognizing supposedly obvious exceptions to those rules (including multiple meanings of words), because they are rarely explicitly verbally communicated.

[@frohnatur9806]

I'm sorry if I came off a bit harshly. That's mostly because I am indeed annoyed. I should make clear though, that I've been frustrated about the widespread - in my opinion - misdescription of autistic thinking as black and white and incapable of abstract concepts, so it's (probably) not like you came up with using these words yourself or "in a vacuum"

[@autismsomeassemblyrequired5657]

@frohnatur9806 Thank you for your thought-provoking response. We are always happy to receive feedback. Your response is a great reminder that Autism is a spectrum and information shared is our experience with our child. As this information was published as a tool to hopefully provide insight, even if limited, to those unfamiliar with Austism, it didn't occur to us to be cognizant of verbiage tone/reflection etc. that might be bothersome to those on the spectrum. Definitely an oversight on our part . Again, thank you for your response.

[@frohnatur9806]

@@autismsomeassemblyrequired5657 thank You for Your response! I hope you will consider what I said in future videos, and I have no doubts in your good intentions and that you are overall doing good work in furthering the understanding of autism in the general public. Edit: I also want to add, that my annoyance with some of your stylistic choices is just a matter of personal taste that probably has nothing to do with autism, so gladly disregard that part, since you can never please everyone.

[@wizardsuth]

"are you and your brother close?" -- There's an episode of _Buffy the Vampire Slayer_ in which a group of vampires are trying to resurrect their deceased leader. Giles finds that the resurrection spell requires them to sacrifice those who were closest to the leader, which he (being neurotypical) interprets as those most important to him, i.e. his allies. Nope. It meant those who were physically closest to the vampire when he died, i.e. those who killed him.

[@noonefromnowhere99]

I am autistic and don't really care about puzzles or infinity symbols. My thinking is black and white and sometimes literal understanding can be an issue for me but most of the time it isn't. I had to learn how NTs think and even then it's sometimes not so easy.

[@Kenny-cl2nm]

As a parent, not only do I appreciate the videos but the comments as well. Knowing no one person is the same, gives me different perspectives to help me understand our Son who is nonverbal. I don't think anyone is nonverbal really. They just speak differently. Our sons name is Ethan, so I tell everyone they have to learn Ethannize😊 Thank you all for your help❤

[@Cat_theft_auto]

The moment i heard “they” i stopped watching, it makes sense you have it so rigidly wrong and disconnected from what its like to be a person also, i don’t wanna hear someone speak about someone else’s experience, and get it wrong.

[@marshmallow13585]

I agree

[@beethechange257]

Words mean things.

[@CarlosRodriguez-cj8oo]

But things don't mean words, necessarily.

[@jn1211]

neurotypicals aren't aware of this in the same way.

[@2bfrank657]

NTs belong in a world where telepathy exists.

[@Ayverie4]

Wow, what a terribly unrelatable video. It's clearly from an outside, non-autistic perspective. Hopefully because it's 6 years old and the creators have learned to get their information from actual autistic people by now.

[@adolfohernandez5970]

I was exactly like that as a kid. Im high masking now but it took a brutal process of trial and error.

[@bog6106]

80% of jobs will be taken by ai and 80% have nuerotypical disorder. the smart thing to do would be to wait till winter so the smell and discarding will be the most pleasant.

[@user-nm3ug3zq1y]

Autistics don't get "if" conditions. Autistics are also quite often proficient coders. And this is no contradiction. The puzzle pieces in the beginning tell you so.

[@2bfrank657]

Careful, we're often not good with sarcasm 😂

[@j09k06]

Is this comment a joke.

[@user-nm3ug3zq1y]

​@@j09k06, not exactly a joke. Frank got it right, it was sarcasm. This video is so outdated in its views that it hurts to watch. Literally the dude claims autistic people can't think abstractly. Probably he can explain to all of us, why so many autistic people (formerly called Asperger) end up in IT jobs, figuring out and designing the most complicated shit you can imagine? With the notion of autism this guy has, his answer can only be: "Yeah, but those are not real autists." I'm seriously surprised that I don't find more criticism under this terrible video.

[@fluffyunicorn1515]

I am 32 female and I was diagnosed with dyspraxia and adhd several years ago. I was being assessed for autism before lockdown but I moved away for a while and did not end up finishing the assessment. I am going to be seeing my psychiatrist soon and I need to speak to him about why I think I'm autistic. It is so complex because I have these other conditions. I spoke to student services and they said it sounds like I'm taking things literally and struggling with metaphors but that I'm able to think things through. I did not understand Steven Pinker's Book Is the Mind a Blank Slate? It took me some time to understand that he was talking about the nature vs nurture debate. For years I have puzzled over this concept and the term 'is the mind a blank slate' does not make any sense to me. So the mind is like a blank piece of paper? In another class the lecturer asked if any of us would fight for anything. I asked what do you mean fight like physically? After thinking about it and asking ai I figured out he means would you stand up for something. I am still confused by this and I'm not sure if I would fight for something or not. I feel so stupid sometimes. I ask my lecturers questions then get embarrassed, thinking I should probably already know this and it is a stupid question. I struggle with dichotomous thinking. I don't understand how it's possible for me to get a degree in social sciences if I am neurodiverse and have dichotomous thinking, but that in itself is an example of dichotomous thinking. I have social issues, struggle to make friends and maintain friendships, struggle with eye contact and worry about my own body language and what is appropriate. Sometimes I say things that don't make sense. I am not sure what my special interest would be as I have lots of interests but I have adhd and that is quite common I think in adhd. I love animals, ballet, roller coasters, and social science and philosophy. I struggle to read things that don't interest me. I am reading a book about animals and I can do that no problem. If I have to read one chapter on something that's not relevant to my interests and 'read aloud' is not an option it can be a very long and tedious process and sometimes I'm simply not able to finish reading it. I read some theories recently that questions the existence of adhd and the less extreme view, that it is over diagnosed. This concept makes no sense to me. Either is exists or it doesn't. How can people question this? Or do they just mean it is not a disorder but instead a variation? I worry as well that people will think 'another woman diagnosing herself with autism' like I am jumping on a band wagon. I am frustrated because I can't figure out if I have autism or not. I have spent lots of time with many different autistic and neurodiverse people and usually I get along really well with them. I am also very emotionally reactive and I experience a lot of empathy and I get upset about things like I feel like sometimes I asked my lecturers stupid questions and they will think I'm dumb or not following instructions but I have tried to follow the instructions and I have got confused. Or a concept can completely confuse me and it might not even be important. I am so confused. I don't know if anyone can help me.

[@Thalanox]

If you are the one who thinks they have communication skills, and you do not communicate in an understandable way to someone who is doing everything in their power to communicate with you and reach out, then I think it is your fault. This is much like when a strong person uses their strength to harm others rather than to aid them.

[@danielwilliamson6180]

I was diagnosed with autism at the age of 7.

[@SuperAwesomeReasons]

I pulled this shit on the Temptations when I was a child. I met one of their (fantastically talented) guitar players that they were accompanied by at the time, and because I understood the Temptations to be the four singers and no one else, I didn't count the guitarist as one of the Temptations, and I offered him my left hand instead of my right hand to shake while saying to his face that I did it because the right hand is for the real temptations. I wonder if I can find that guy and clear up the misunderstanding.

[@justmyopinion2205]

I was born in the US, I was 3 days old when my father was stationed, and our entire family was move, to live in another country’s island. I was 9 or 10, as we were driving home from the city when my dad told us a friend in the US had read in the papers about a, Colored man who had been swimming when he was suddenly attacked and killed by piranhas. The second my father said “a colored man”, I immediately stopped listening as I was in absolute stunned AWE by beautiful images conjured up in my mind. I’d never seen a colored man, nor had I ever heard of the existence of colored man. Wow! An American man whose skin had every color there was on it. Like a red hand and a green hand, different and many different colors covering his legs, arms, entire body. After 16 years of living overseas , the mission my dad was working on was successfully achieved and the world celebrated. Soon after we were moved to the US, which I’d never been to before nor did I know anything about America at the time. I was really mad after, being in the US for 2 to 3 years, my father was talking about his work colleague and I asked who he was because my dad said he worked overseas at the same time dad did. He’s the gentleman who had a wife from Colombia and they have the daughter who’s a little younger than you. Lenny, you remember he’s a colored man. I was mad 😡 He’s not a colored man! His skin is brown all over! After my father explained the words definition to me I was extremely sad and wanted desperately to go back to my island 🏝️.

[@bumblebaa2327]

I'm a 50 yo engineer and just got diagnosed. I got into problems when the society in 2020 did not fit my theory of the world (and life and everything). Rigid and logical thinking on my part, oops. But I'm a scientist and have lots of if/when exceptions in my thinking and knowing that I don't know a lot. Plus decades of training in the NT world. Do you have an example for how older autistics think, so I might understand how I differ? I know I don't think in abstract concepts of concrete things, when you for example say "cat" I think of a specific cat called Poem. I rolodex through a lot of specific cats I knew and then I can follow/mount a thought train about cats in abstraction. I can about total abstract things too, things like "absolution" or "the industrial complex". Had some problems understanding "sublimation" though. Do I differ from other intellectuals in this? And, as an aside, I attach strong judgements to behaviour I see in society. Think politics, ingrained racism and court cases. I suspect that judging that hard is an autistic trait. While in personal contact I always assume I'm in the wrong.

[@loverainthunder]

NT's have fuzzy logic and a sense of reality that is in part determined by the assumed perception of those around them. So their sense of self and reality changes automatically as they see someone observing them. They rely heavily on the perception of others in order to "feel out" reality. This is what is meant by mind blindness. Autistics aren't as driven to imagine the world through others perception, so we expect reality to be wholly formed and physical. So it can be impossible for me to feel how special and valuable gold is, for example. But because other's value gold, the nt fuzzily feels how important gold is. I may only see it as a metal that has uses, and may be pretty, and that people have decided has value. My point is, NTs are doing something extra. They aquire and create culture through shared fuzzy perception. So you could look at yourself as rigid, but you could also look at it as being reality based, not subject to the whims of culture as much as NTs. I suffered because I thought NTs were more knowledgeable than I was, when they just are better at feeling the value of cultural behaviors without requiring logic to explain why the behavior is important. They're interdependent when it comes to their perception. Autistics may be dependent more if disabled by sensory trouble and being unable to integrate with others. I believe your mind is able, but you probably just aren't doing fuzzy logic mind reading that satisfies NTs. An autistic mind is an independent thinking mind, a NT mind relies on a shared and felt sense of reality. They aren't able to easily perceive how dependent their minds are, just as I never realized they intentionally copy off each other, and don't independently come to similar conclusions.

[@loverainthunder]

If my child was the autistic child described in the vid, I would have clearly explained to him the concept of exceptions, when they should be used and why. And that they can be a surprise. But maybe the child was overwhelmed by the commotion and not in a place where they could cope with what feels like a shocking change. My point is, I believe autistics can think abstractly but are driven by different sensory and emotional needs.

[@bumblebaa2327]

@@loverainthunder letting you know your answer helped me so much when you wrote it 10 months ago. And ever since. I often reread it. You explain things in a language I understand and you do it to educate me, not to shame me. And it's so very interesting too! Thank you for all of that :) I hope you have many good days :)

[@wintermatherne2524]

No wonder I always assumed nts are stupid.

[@yesbruvsistrasnonbinary]

​@@loverainthundergold has value because it is rare, does not degrade and is pure. It is a physical element that represents spiritual beauty. That's abstract eh? Lol.

[@gotobassmsn]

I did know I had High Functioning Autism till I was in my early 40's. And I never knew how to properly respond to people, for I didn't understand the non verbal social ques.

[@Zal1810]

Same here, 38 and just diagnosed. I don't know what to do wih myself now

[@Koalarix]

Hi I went to a general practitioner, I was told not to pursue it because there is no benefit to being labelled. Outside of that, they said because I can make eye contact and not take idioms literally, there's a low chance that I have mild autism. Is it true because of these 2 factors there's no need to pursue a diagnosis.

[@YahYaa-Yisrael]

No. Most people do not understand autism unless they study it, which is a specialty. I lived with a therapist for most of my childhood and had about 7 years of therapy. It was a therapist that I wasn’t even seeing, that suspected it. I also have ADHD, which masks some ASD symptoms. I can make eye contact (it’s often a conscious effort), I understand certain types of jokes and am actually quite sarcastic, myself. I’m officially diagnosed. I shall add…ASD looks very different in women and in POC. It’s called high masking. Your GP doesn’t know what they’re talking about. The DX is more for you, but it does have one major drawback: some countries won’t let you immigrate if you’re on the spectrum.

[@HiIAmGabe]

Psychologists with check boxes are so frustrating! neuro typical people have a hard time grasping the neuro diverse mind. There are so many misconceptions displayed in this video. I assume you are good at logical thinking? To my knowledge autistic people often prefer logical thinking. So, if a person can logically think, they should also be able to logically analyze situations or humor. Some people might have a lower motivation, capacity or tendency to logically analyze communications which could result in always taking things literal. Others on the other hand can be very good at analyzing communications and especially humor.

[@HiIAmGabe]

Let me give some further examples: ​I think black and white thinking could relate to the need for order. Probably NT peope blindly follow the implicit social rules around crossing the street and therefore lack the ability to explain how they (the rules) are constructed and can't help replacing a simple rule with a logical explanation and underlying logical reasoning. I am not saying this will work for every autistic person (note: not people with autism, since it is simply a different way of thinking and not a disease), especially if the set of literal rules could give a sense of structure and comfort in an unstructured world. This is especially the case for autistic people who might have other intellectual challenges and find it hard to understand the complex logical alternative to the literal rule. Furthermore, the end of the video displays another possible misconception about the autistic person as they could indeed have the ability to follow the abstract thought process of understanding that the situation has changed but it is simply hard to deal with change as it brings disorder. In addition, autistic people often can have a higher need for mental preparations as executive functions, sensory sensations and social situations can be more draining for them. In conclusion, there are many dimensions to neurodiverse thinking that might be hard to grasp for a neuro typical mind.

[@Koalarix]

@@YahYaa-Yisrael Thanks for the response, what's this DX you mentioned?

[@HiIAmGabe]

@@Koalarix Dx is short for (medical) diagnosis. As I understand the "x" in "Dx" is a crossbar and just indicates that "D" is an abbreviation.

[@INFPeace-]

I have autism and I used to have that literal black and white way of thinking, but I did speech and occupational therapy growing up. One section, I learned figurative speech with these fun little cartoon comics. I’m a fast learner so I picked up on it pretty quickly. One time while having lunch at home I tend to unconsciously open my mouth a little while eating which makes noise that bothers my family members. My mom keeps reminding me to chew with my mouth closed. This time, she did this by saying “watch your mouth.” I knew she meant it literally, but I made a joke in response: “What did I say that was wrong?” She started laughing and said “THAT’S NOT WHAT I MEANT!!” After a good laugh, she said that was a good one. 😂😂😂😂

[@rohanking12able]

So like npc prompt scripts. Filed and have to be manually edited

[@misspat7555]

Convenient how allistics change the rules whenever it suits THEM, but use them as an excuse to punish us if WE break them… hmm… 🤨

[@autismsomeassemblyrequired5657]

@@misspat7555 That is a direct result of egocentrism. They are the center of their own world.

[@maverickstanding5733]

@@autismsomeassemblyrequired5657 Who are?

[@The_Vanished]

I love how i obviously thought in the autistic fashion my entire life, and was constantly picked on for not understanding when someone was messing with me. "Haha you stupid idiot!". "Why eo you talk like that?" "That" is not an understandable way of speaking. Then around 30 i went to see doctor after doctor and theyre like oh youre catastrophizing, flat affect is due to depression, theres no diagnosis with speech issues, youre lazy it you eont understand people's emotions. You just have every cluster b personality disorder, thats the least common denominator because im a doctor, i have the control and it makes the most sense to diagnose the most possible conditions with the most profoundly negative and discrimintory connotation possible. Then they give me pike ten years of weekly therapy to convince me i have sero empathy and that i should embrace being a psychopath and they have me qll figured out and its because my personality that I had meltdowns even 5hough i didn't understand why i was doing that while being completely embarrassed. That i couldn't control how emotions affected my demeanor, etc. "oh, its because you dont care or respect people around you"

[@j09k06]

neurotypical try not to make a tragedy narrative around the autistic person challenge (impossible)

[@bustedfender]

“Is autistic” rather than “has autism”, please. It’s not like I can leave it home when I want to.

[@worldorange9587]

Bro thats the most autistic response you could comment taking it so literally zero common sense 😂

[@kellypye497]

Stop trying to victimize yourself and before you say it I’m autistic too

[@worldorange9587]

Perfect example of autism right here taking it so literal

[@Persun_McPersonson]

It doesn't matter that you're autistic too, that doesn't add any credence to your accusation of self-victimization, Asshole.

[@SeitanicLady]

I have asperger's and was told by my friend who also has it that literal thinking isnt a part of apergers/autism, that "it's just you." I recall literal thinking being in the lists of symptoms of Asperger's when they were diagnosing me a decade ago, and I found this video by searching "autism literal" and lots of other videos on this topic came up. I mean where do people get this idea that literal thinking is not a part of autism? Is it because of that stupid "everyones a little autistic" phrase?

[@DaniCat99]

Interesting...someone who is undiagnosed autistic in my life who was adopted has believed his parents lied to him his entire life, not informing him he was adopted until he found out on his own as a teen but i feel something exactly like this scenario is the likely truth...he didnt understand the concept of adoption

[@paulinabartosiewicz417]

Why assume that someone does not understand the concept of adoption? If a person receives the following information: a) a brother is someone who came from the same mother's womb, and b) you can take in a child who came from another mother's womb and that child is also a brother, these are simply conflicting pieces of information. An autistic person, who focuses on details and thinks very logically (these are common traits in autism), will notice this contradiction. What is missing is the crucial information that the word "brother" has more than one meaning, and that there is a difference between a "biological brother" and a "brother in the eyes of the law." Where a neurotypical person might accept an illogical statement at face value (from my perspective, blindly accepting something is the opposite of understanding) and not notice the contradiction, an autistic person might question it.

[@2bfrank657]

​@@paulinabartosiewicz417 100% the whole time I was thinking "just explain that there are two meanings to the word brother".

[@j09k06]

Probably because you were explaining the blueprint behind it extremely between the lines?

[@jedimasterham2]

This video may fit only one autistic person, not everyone. It doesn’t take into account masking, which forces us to adapt our moral compunction.

[@Bs4Christ]

exactly the same as our experience. how can we help them understand abstract ideas?

[@autismsomeassemblyrequired5657]

Never stop teaching, and remember that you never know what your kiddo DOESN'T know.

[@johannesroeder274]

Disclaimer: I don't know, if I really have autism, yet, but I'm definitely not neuro typical. So maybe it helps? Maybe start by talking with your kid about the concept of abstract ideas. That there are words with sometimes very fuzzy definitions, that people came up with so they can talk faster with each other. Its like, if you show people pictures of chairs and tables, they usually will know and have the same understanding, what is a chair and what is a table, but if you ask them for a definition of a chair or a table and what is the difference between them, most people start to struggle, even if you tell people to go and grab a chair, they usually won't grab a thing, you think is a table. So its ok to say grab a chair instead of describing every single chair. It is similar with other words as well. People have given things and groups of things and feelings names to talk faster about them, like with chairs and tables a lot of people have slightly different definitions of words like: love, justice, equality. Most of the time it works fine, but sometimes there is misunderstanding based on different definitions of this concepts. That is why it is sometimes very confusing, when people use this words.

[@faiora]

I can only speak from my own experience as someone diagnosed: I think it’s not precise enough to say autistics “lack abstract thinking.” There are autistic people who are great at advanced math and are seen as lacking abstract thinking. And yet, math beyond an elementary school level is almost the definition of abstract thinking. But non-autistic people (who may not have pursued advanced mathematics themselves, or don’t feel capable of it) will notice other areas where that person doesn’t seem to employ abstract thought. Same for “black and white” thinking. Autistic people may well seem this way in some areas, but non-autistic people have some very black and white views about how people should move and act and think. They notice the areas where autistic people are using hard rules in their approach. They don’t notice where they do the same thing. I think there’s a difference in priorities, more than anything else. I do think it’s worth adding: I (like many autistic people) do not have an intellectual disability, and I can’t speak for anyone who does. I wonder if B&W thinking might be a helpful strategy for someone with an intellectual disability? It seems like it could be a good way of overcoming certain challenges. But I don’t know.

[@HiIAmGabe]

​@@faiora I found this video incredibly hard to watch. I think black and white thinking relates to the need for order. Probably NT peope blindly follow the implicit social rules around crossing the street and therefore lack the ability to explain how they are constructed and replace a simple rule with a logical explanation and underlying logical reasoning. I am not saying this will work for every autistic person (note: not people with autism, since it is simply a different way of thinking and not a disease), especially if the set of literal rules could give a sense of structure and comfort in an unstructured world. This is especially the case for autistic people who might have other intellectual challenges and find it hard to understand the complex logical alternative to the literal rule. Furthermore, the end of the video displays another possible misconception about the autistic person as they could indeed have the ability to follow the abstract thought process of understanding that the situation has changed but it is simply hard to deal with change as it brings disorder. In addition, autistic people often can have a higher need for mental preparations as executive functions, sensory sensations and social situations can be more draining for them. In conclusion, there are many dimensions to neurodiverse thinking that might be hard to grasp for a neurotypical mind.

[@laurabeigh283]

My ex partner is ASD. He sees no utilitarianism in being particularly nice to anyone. so he’s not. Hence, my ex.

[@Taoscape]

"No if-then thinking". That sheds some light on things, thanks!

[@Koozomec]

Tbf neurotypical people add "if" and "than" were it's irrelevant very often. Thanks to our overengineered world they trive anyway.

[@kendsi6523]

please don't use the puzzle piece sign, the rainbow infinity symbol is preferred

[@montymontgomery7464]

THIS IS IMPORTANT ☝️

[@ryona5476]

Why?

[@bumblebaa2327]

@@ryona5476 it has to do with an American autism organisation that uses the puzzle piece and claims to speak for autistics but is also judgemental about autism and autistics. I hear they think its a fault that should be mended. And that they don't have autistics in their review or feedback groups. Over here in Europe the puzzle piece does not carry these connotations. But the infinity symbol is great.

[@loverainthunder]

Hint. NTs fit together like puzzle pieces, and will literally change their sense of self and reality to fit together. Realizing the puzzle peice describes their needs can help it feel more reasonable. They want to conform to our edges and have us conform to theirs so we all can be together. It's a tender thought really. 💗😂 The rainbow infinity makes more sense when you consider the possibilities that an autistic perspective may hold, but the puzzle peice accurately describes a NTs needs. This dad is surely puzzled.

[@Zoe12ss]

@@ryona5476 basically it’s associated with an organization called autism speaks that has some really bad/ableist views (not getting into it but you can look it up) and it’s basically saying that there’s a “piece missing in autistic people”. As an autistic person myself, it’s just really eh, I don’t have a piece missing or anything I’m just a regular person who just happens to have autism

[@artisticautistic9664]

Meh... I don't think you know what abstract thinking is.

[@readyrock3242]

This is literally how I think

[@DWSP101]

I find this information to be slightly informative, but the sad fact is this is only pointing out one tiny aspect of the autism spectrum. You’re not getting the whole thing. This is merely a small aspect of the spectrum. You’re in the right ballpark but the way you go about explaining it, just a bad taste in my mouth. I know I have certain deficits executive functioning and I have ADHD combined and this is a video from six years ago, but literally the factual information being out of date irritates the hell out of me and I just can’t help but feel so irritated by it. It’s like when something I have is not an orderl

[@Imnotgoodatusernames]

Dude why is your paper so bright

[@autismsomeassemblyrequired5657]

It's a dry erase white board. I have to have lots of light on it for it to show up properly. Any shadow skews the whole thing.

[@Imnotgoodatusernames]

Ok that makes sense

[@A.Hanaais]

I find this video very interesting and actually very accurate. Thank you 👍

[@CantFindMeNowTom]

This video is mean

[@AlecFortescue]

intro literally happened to me, though it involved my dad telling me to say to a teacher that she can kiss my pump.

[@gabriellamiller2283]

He is right

[@victoryamartin9773]

So literally true!

[@cardboardbox191]

I have a lack of sympathy for the mum wanting to leave 20 minutes early.It's already for moring what's getting brutally cut from the schedule? Even if it's a cartoon he thought he'd get to watch ten minutes ago. A heads up the afternoon before would be much more helpful.

[@Hud.Alexdavenston]

It feels like am watching animation 😄

[@commonwisdom5333]

Thanks Flanders can't say I like Baumhauers though.

[@Serena-yn4pg]

why do we draw the sameee! I think I have autism tho

[@neogoats8738]

Okey so why dont we have a similar video about neurotypicals?

[@monoeye64]

i had to use a volume boost extension and put it at 500% to hear this.

[@imnotbeluga007]

Earrape edition. That may be fun for a while, but not all the time.

[@DarkSentinel52]

LOL

[@zzdogger]

I'm 29 and I think I've been masking my whole life, I think I'm now learning to stop masking, and that outro was SO LOUD I panicked to turn down, lol

[@Secret-Serenity]

I dont understand this and im autistic and think visually

[@klavczarkalafan4191]

You definitely do think visually. We have 10x as much brain dedicated to understanding visuals as we do to auditory processing. Neurotypicals have the same amount of space dedicated to auditory processing but only 1/10 of that (1/100 of what we have) dedicated to processing visuals.

[@ZzedZed]

on behalf of the electromagnetic/colour spectrum i an offended. ! :)

[@annemariemiguel2541]

literal thinking, and fixed thinking. Same thing?.

[@alizaatta2201]

I am subscribing because this is cute....

[@turtleanton6539]

😊😊😊

[@PaPaWizdom]

A very annoying video coupled with a very annoying comment section.

[@FirstLast-cd6vv]

Painfully indecent and childish. Reported.

[@AutodidactEngineer]

If my kids turn autistic I'm gonna get milk

[@bumblebaa2327]

wahaha! I'm a freshly diagnosed 50 yo and I don't understand this at all. I get rapid associations that you want to milk the situation for money and will start a youtube channel but also that you'll become Santaclaus and will hunt for milk and cookies. I trust what you do mean is just as funny :D or that otherwise we'll laugh together about my reading.

[@beasmarty]

@@bumblebaa2327 it seems we share the same brain, buddy xD Yesterday there was a brushfire on the news, and within 25 seconds...immediate association with and flashing recall of the scene from Mrs. Doubtfire, where he accidentally sets his fake bazooms on fire hahaha It's now been on loop every time I blink after seeing a reference to fire or the color red 😅

[@wiley6359]

"turn autistic" go to school and get an education higher than the sixth grade + autism is often hereditary, if your child is born with it then that means that you might've married an autistic person OR you yourself are autistic + go outside bozo

[@wiley6359]

@@bumblebaa2327 hello, unfortunately "gonna get milk" is a meme that younger generations use. it's not good, it means that they are planning to actually leave the child because they don't like the kid for whatever reason :( they're saying that they'd abandon their child if the child was diagnosed with autism. :(

[@bumblebaa2327]

@@wiley6359 oooh thank you. Like "just getting some cigarettes" for older folks. Mr Freeman is blind to the richness of the world that regular folks get to know when they take an interest how an autistic person experiences life. :)

[@internetcancer1672]

The autistic community has gone too far. Constantly feeling like it's okay to ask strangers for accommodation. 😂 Sure, maybe the music's too loud, maybe they shouldn't use puzzle pieces, but like, why do you have a right to like, complain about that stuff? This is a video you get access to for free, it's ridiculous. I get coming from a place of not feeling understood. It feels good to be able to be autistic and not have to mask, but at the same time, if you want other people to accommodate you, you have to accommodate them. 😮

[@Imnotgoodatusernames]

I know thinking might be hard for you, but seriously think before you type, for 1, if music is too loud we can ask for them to turn it down, there is nothing wrong with it, and its easy to just not use the puzzle piece, also, how would WE accommodate neurotypicals, they live in a world taylord to them, and apparently they want US to help them, I know that you don’t understand most of the words said, but seriously use 1% of your already tiny brain to think, wishing you well (if you change for the better)