actually you know what that’s exactly it i would rather someone add 5 parantheticals after every sentence than use tone indicators it’s 1. accomplishing SO much more in terms of clarity 2. extremely funny to look at depending on how they’re used
observe:
“is this real? /gen” — i thought /gen meant “general” for ages. i would not be able to understand this on first sight a few years ago and is thus ineffective
“is this real? (genuine question)” — i fully understand this without issue
“is this real? (genuine question) (can’t tell) (very realistic) (looks real) (scary) (photoshop?)” — is not only incredibly clear it’s also very funny to read all of these thoughts stapled together while also in their own parentheses. it’s also the most useful because now i can actually address all parts of what they are asking me with as much specificity as BOTH of us need
So my brand of autism comes with the “takes things literally” dlc but not in the way that I believe people when they say outlandish things but in the way that I believed my mother when she told me I can’t draw at age 5 and then again when she told me I’m not an artist when I tried to apply for an art academy so I gave up on drawing around middle school because I took it literally that I am NOT an artist and cannot be. Same for when she told me I can’t ever go to college, my child brain just accepted that as fact.
I took it literally when I worked in a factory and they had set goals for us and I worked myself to permanent injury, not understanding the unspoken rule of “take it slow and don’t worry about hitting the goal” because the managers knew they could take advantage of me and I’d do what they told me to do and all the other employees disliked me because I tried too hard and that could make the goals higher for everyone but nobody communicated this to me
I think one of the biggest issues with autism evaluations is that they don’t explain these things to people being evaluated. Taking things literally doesn’t mean I don’t understand sarcasm or jokes. It means I am easy to manipulate and take advantage of.
Also the general public’s perception of what this means is an issue too. I’m starting to think we all, or most, understand sarcasm perfectly well. It’s the other forms of ‘social insincerity’ that we struggle with. Framing it as “not getting sarcasm” I think has done very deep damage.
Exactly. So many people don’t know what autism actually is to the point of not knowing they themselves are autistic.
autism is so cool man. i can say something innocuous and completely true at work, like ‘mackerel is a top tier fish’, and people get giggly and tell me I’m so funny. what’s funny about a nice firm fish with a subtle, almost earthy flavor? not sure. but people are offering me other objects and I can tell them if they’re top tier or not. very fun.
