people assuming I should understand words

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Wasn't sure how else to title this post...

So, I'm pretty terrible at both conversation, and just words in general in some ways. People generally regard me as smart/intelligent, so they expect me to understand everything (for some reason). It causes problems, especially when I tell them I don't understand and they insist that I do.

Some of the major things, I think, are:
-I have a really hard time converting my thoughts into words
-I don't follow conversations well. I guess because I'm too preoccupied with my own thoughts and I have difficulty predicting where the conversation is 'going'
-Certain errors in speech or writing, as well as questions asked based on presuppositions (that the asker assumes I'm aware of when I'm not), cause me the mental equivalent of a stop error.

This has been an issue for me for as long as I can remember, and I don't really know what, if anything, to do about it.

Does anyone else have similar issues?