Common Cognitive Errors?

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Hello All,

I find that my cognition seems quite different at times than NTs. Once, my sister pointed out to me that job interviewing involves skills that can be improved. I felt quite stupid because this never occurred to me and I find that I still don't quite believe it. I tend to believe that people are either good at something or they are not.

Recently I read "The Journal of Best Practices" and learned that social skills are something that to an extent can be learned. Or at least there are strategies to follow that can increase your success.

Would my error in cognition simply be an example of black and white thinking? Are there common "cognitive errors" experience by folks with ASD?

I'm interested in hearing your thoughts.

What exactly was your error in this situation?

You know what, now that you ask, I guess it wasn't an error as much as not having appropriate knowledge. Thanks for pointing that out. I just wonder how it is that things that seem so obvious to NTs I am only figuring out now that I am in my 30's. How did they acquire that knowledge?

NTs have natural social instinct. Generally these wth autism are lacking in social instinct. Some have more than others.

Plus I think many of us don't pay attention to things that others do. A narrow focus means many things are missed.

Natural talent and skills are two different things. A person can have natural talent in a certain area without having any skills in that area. And a person with no natural talent in a particular area can still acquire skills in that area. He or she will just have to try harder than one with natural talent.

These aren't cognitive errors. It's more like a cognitive omission. This might be black and white thinking, though. It could be a case of a person not using one's cognitive ability, rather than the lack of cognitive ability per se.

Think about it: don't you believe that we can improve ANY ASPECT of ourselves.

Don't you believe, say, that you are always evolving, and that you improve in knowledge of your special interest through research?

Of course one should improve one's job hunting skills if one is having trouble getting a job, even if it's through no fault of your own.

Great points and replies. Thanks

I agree with this quote from "The Social Thinking-­Social Communication Profile":

...This is not a scale of development nor is it “recovery-­based.” We do not expect individuals to move from one social functioning category to the next unless he or she started at the very high end of one category and then merged into the next category. Individuals... are considered to be solidly within that category throughout their lives, although improvement within that particular category is to be expected...

...However, those who are emerging social communicators are developmentally different in how they learn social information. As a result, as they continue to acquire new information, they will still be behind their peer group in how they process and respond to it. When we look at a person’s progress, we need to focus on how the individual has improved compared to himself or herself rather than how that person compares to others of the same age.

_________________
31st of July, 2013
Diagnosed: Autism Spectrum Disorder, Auditory-Verbal Processing Speed Disorder, and Visual-Motor Processing Speed Disorder.

Weak Emerging Social Communicator (The Social Thinking-­Social Communication Profile by Michelle Garcia Winner, Pamela Crooke and Stephanie Madrigal)

"I am silently correcting your grammar."