The stereotype that those with ASD tend not to see the whole

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I'm ADHD with sub-clinical ASD, and don't know any aspies ect in real life, so my info is limited.

There seems to be a common stereotype that those with ASD tend to be oblivious to the big picture, but I suspect this stereotype is possibly a result of observations that don't see the big picture.

It has happened to me, I became very interested in an academic controversy, and saw the big picture just fine. To criticize another position I attacked it in detail, and was accused of "missing the forest for the trees", and one person mockingly asked "spilt hairs much?" (my attention to detail did not extend to typos)

Any insight on ASD and seeing the whole? Do the members here see the idea that those with ASD are oblivious to the whole as a misguided stereotype?

I have trouble seeing the whole picture sometimes. It depends what it is. My mom is an aspie too and she has trouble seeing the whole picture. I actually get frustrated by her focusing on what I think is an unimportant detail of the whole picture. But I noticed I sometimes do it too. I can't think of a certain situation where her and I did this right now, but I can remember how frustrated I've made people and how frustrated she's made me during those moments

I've noticed lot of NTs do this too or are they just dong it intentionally and just choosing to nitpick about one little thing and ignore the rest just for the drama? It was very common at Babycenter when I went there a lot.

I don't think I have this issue but I have been accused of splitting hairs and gotten stuck on things. I had more of an issue seeing the bigger picture as a kid and my mom had to work with me on it using social stories. It was always these animated pictures therapists use when they teach kids.

Yes. The challenge for me is not enough information or inaccurate information which distorts my perception of the big picture.

It's not a stereotype. It's called "Weak Central Coherence theory". Like other theories, it has some "holes".

I see the whole picture when I understand any and all parts.

If there is any piece or part of the whole picture that's treated like a black box then I literally cannot see the whole picture.

I find that any time I get accused of not seeing the whole picture and getting stuck in details is when I'm trying to figure out the black box pieces of the whole picture. And usually I'm still learning whatever it is while others have decided to save time and not learn or see everything.

And by black box, I mean any process, item, activity that it takes input, and I don't know what goes on to give output.

thanks for the replys everybody

could one of the 'holes' be that when the whole is seen, it is seen far more clearly than it tends to be seen by NTs?

Autistic perception has shown to have a tendency for gestalt, that is taking in everything at once and only then noticing the individual details one at a time.
This can lead to both a distorted view of the 'big picture' since the gestalt tends to be disorienting, and focusing on the details inevitably misses parts of the larger picture.

However, once we've fully absorbed all the information about a topic/scene, we tend to have a much better idea about the big picture than others.
It can take us a while to get there, though.

Just my perspective, of course...

Sometimes I speak to people while not being aware that they're with other people or what it is they're doing, it's just, "There's John, I'll say hello."

I read an extract from The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time where the AS (?) protagonist sees a policeman, but his thought process is more about how he likes police uniforms than the fact that he's about to get into trouble. I don't know how accurate that book is, but I can imagine some people being like that.

I feel like I usually have a good grasp on the big picture, I just pay attention to all the details to....I can see how someone might think maybe I am not getting the big picture when I get stuck on a detail. But I still see the whole picture, just want to get the detail sorted out or whatever. I guess I get stuck on analyzing all the parts of the big picture.

Sometimes my anxiety and depression can get in the way of the big picture....because I might get stuck on one aspect of something, and have a hard time getting past that.

This matches with my experience.



I call others' "big picture" the "middle picture". That's what I don't see. It's common and I am missing out on social connections or being seen as competent when I don't share this "middle picture" with others.

As for the forest and the tree metaphor, this is how I elaborate on it:

I can see the stream of ants traveling over some bark

and

I can see a galaxy

-but everyone is referencing the trees or a forest...but when I zoom out to my "big picture", I cannot locate the planet on which this forest might reside (or, I certainly cannot do it quickly or without a nudge in the right direction).

Yes, it is a stereotype, one propogated by the observations and conclusions of scientists, who tend to have an easier time picking out people lower on the spectrum, or people with severe mental illnesses. People on the lower end of the spectrum have more problems processing information with their brains, so naturally they have a harder time seeing the whole picture. However, they assume that these neurological processing issues are the same as neurological processing differences in other people. They also believe that only the NT human brain can properly see the "big picture". In my experience, NT's are no better at seeing any sort of "big picture" than anyone neurodiverse person is.

[Moved from Autism Politics, Activism, and Media Representation to General Autism Discussion]

I normally see the big picture first. I can also get stuck on small details. If nothing grabs my attention I won't get stuck on anything.

My world is definitely fragmented. I have trouble with the "big picture", but I'm better at finding new angles others may not think of.

This is me as well. What's interesting, is once I have digested all the details, I see the whole picture much more clearly than others. This skill has been useful in my career when I have been asked to do systems analysis. As eventually I become an expert at both the big picture and all of the nitty gritty details.

What's interesting is that, until recently, I never understood how extremely detailed-oriented I am. Heck, I didn't understand what the term meant. I also didn't previously understand the saying "can't see the forest for the trees". Because eventually, I always saw both. With incredible accuracy.