05 Jul 2015, 10:56 pm
A popular thread from /r/science (Reddit): LINK
The first comment I find intriguing in relation to autism:
'Ok, bear with me, because this is kind of abstract, but in order for language to function in the first place you have to be capable of forming the abstract associations necessary to attach meaning to a specific group of sounds.
Thus, the ability to speak would be a function of the ability to form those abstractions, rather than vice versa.'
My friend had a speech delay and he also had a helper all throughout school for abstract learning disabilities. Based on the comment this makes a whole lot of sense, however, you'd think that those with AS (no language delay) would not be so concrete/literal given developed abstraction.
Ignoring oversimplification and the possibility of the comment/article being wrong, I can't think of any real reasons for this. I suspect that either abstraction in all forms of autism is impaired (degrees), or that those with AS develop a unique method of dealing with abstract concepts etc.
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Unapologetically, Norny.
-chronically drunk
05 Jul 2015, 11:08 pm
I would simply conjecture that
autism or no,
every human being is an individual
and some are better than others
when it comes to abstraction.
The intriguing thing is that when I used to take poetry classes
and writing workshops,
the teachers would always say that abstraction in poetry was bad
and that to succeed as a poet,
you needed to
communicate concretely.
I love poetry! 
...
