Missing really obvious pieces of information.
I left school early and didn't really learn anything, the teachers could have been speaking in a different language as far as I was concerned so I have recently started doing a few courses with the Open University. I just about passed the first couple of courses because I missed really obvious pieces of information even when I was reading the same pages for months. I have just started a new course and I have done it again. I missed an important part of the course description. My tutor told me and now I notice how big the information is. I registered months ago and have been checking regularly so I wouldn't make the same mistake but I did. I could have sworn these things weren't there, it's like my brain is playing tricks on me. I only ever realise when other people point them out to me. It is so frustrating.
Does anyone else do this and is it a part of Aspergers?
My Aspie son does this all the time and it occurs one of three ways:
(i) He tends to focus on details, treating all details with the same level of importance, and miss the big picture.
(ii) Once he reads something, he feels he knows it. He relies on his first interpretation. The information is already in his head so he won't re-read it.
(iii) He is focused on one of his interests and doesn't apply his full attention to the information he is supposed to be understanding.
I do this.
I focus on details, and often miss what turns out to be most important.
Because I'm quite smart really I also don't really bother to re-read stuff. Once I've read it once, I know it. Or I think I do.
I know it's also hard for other people to explain to me what I have done wrong, because I'm sure I've read and remembered it and must understand it right. I struggle to realise when I'm wrong.
What helps me is making sure I focus on what I'm meant to be doing, even when I don't like it. Like a lot of Aspies, I have very particular interests, and I search for familiar patterns in details that often turn out irrelevant.
I take regular breaks, and make sure I have a teacher nearby if I need them, because I find if a non-Aspie reads something out to me, I understand it better because of the way they read, but I have a problem trusting people I don't think are as clever as me.
It is something normal for Asperger's I think, but I don't know if there is a particular way around it.

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