Seeing words when it is spoken to you

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Do you see words, specifically new words, when you hear someone say it to you?

I kind of see them as "pictures" - I thought they were pictures but they were just spelling of words like something typed up in a word processor - floating in the air with a black background. I think it alternates with my view of the real world, but I'm not quite sure what it is. Usually when I hear new words or recently heard/spelled out words I can see the spelling "float" in front of me and the same thing happens with maps but just not as detailed. I also don't have a visual/imaginative thinking because when you ask me to read something or visualize it, I would just see the words floating in darkness. I've asked other people (NTs) and they told me they don't see them, and when they read something they can see a picture almost automatically.

Is this an ASD trait or is it just me? Does anyone else experience it and can you explain to me what this is?

I think that's this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synesthesia

it sounds sort of like synesthetia which has many different forms.

And you do sound like a visual thinker to me. l'm NT and l don't do any of that. Not even a picture of the object, l'm pretty much totally verbal.

Dyslexics do something similar to this.

I am a visual thinker. But thing is, I don't see colors in words basically its white words and black background with I think a serif printed font, but I'm not sure since it "flashes" very quickly and disappears. Overtime, I got used to it and thought it was normal and that all people are like me, however that wasn't the case.

The colors thing is like one brand of synethestia lol.

But this sounds also sounds so close to dyslexia that if you have trouble reading or spelling words because of it, it could labeled as that,

I don't have any trouble spelling words. In fact, it is actually helpful since I can see the spelling.

What do you mean by reading words - is it pronouncing? I also do well at English class and tests, so I doubt it is dyslexia, but I do remember I had problems spelling my name when I was younger and writing some letters and numbers backwards (mirror image), so I just practiced spelling my name out loud over and over again and that seemed to fix the problem. As for mirror writing, I don't remember how it disappeared but with age and school it kind of died out, but if P and R are on the same word, that I still mix up. So does that mean I outgrowed dyslexia?

I can "feel" sound. That's the closest I've got.

This idea is written about in the book The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime. In the novel, Christopher (who has Aspergers/is on the spectrum) sees words typed out when he hears them. I thought it might be helpful for you to know about that or read that if you want. You are definitely not alone in this. I personally don't see words exactly, but I often type words in my head when I hear or think about them. It sounds weird, it's hard to explain, but I imagine typing them on a keyboard, and in that way I guess I somewhat see them, though it is not nearly as visual as your experience. Definitely might be worth doing a quick search on synesthesia though because with that, your senses could get mixed and you could see something from hearing it. Especially if colours are involved I would investigate synesthesia.

The way l've seen it described is that they will see a word or a picture in their mind and start to rotate it and look at i from different angles, which leads to the misinterpretation of which way letters and words should be, how they should look, etc.

But if it doesn't cause that then it wouldn't be labeled as a learning disability which is first and foremost what dyslexia is.

So l think it's interesting, maybe dyslexia is one subset of synethestia that's being labeled differently because it's more specifically a learning disability.

l have "cross overs" in other areas, l'd say with music l sometimes feel like it absorbs all of my senses at once to the point that l don't even know what's going on (and sometimes space out to a dangerous degree lol). But not this specifically.

I do the same, expecially when the person that's speaking to me is not there in front of me.

I do this too, especially with abstract things which can't be visualized - I can spot a spelling mistake immediately because the word literally doesn't look right. This is how I manage to learn foreign languages though I'm primarily a visual thinker.

You mean other people do this too? Many words have their own font and color when I hear them spoken or think of the word(s).

I have ticker-tape synesthesia, but I also see images/pictures for most every word I read or hear spoken to me. So, whenever I hear, speak, or read words, I'm not only "seeing" the words in my head, I'm also "seeing" images. I can "switch" back and forth between them, making one or the other be the main focus. It happens for me in Spanish, too. The images I see depend on the conversation. It may be just a picture of the actual word or it may be an elaborate scene (me "reliving" something that actually happened or something I saw on TV, etc.).

I've been like this all my life, i just found out a while ago that not everyone thinks like this.

for me it's just an involuntary thing, i can't hear a word without seeing the letters of it, and vice versa. it's not like i literally see the letters floating in front of me though, it's more of an abstract thing, like when you imagine something, it's just there in your mind.

i'm curious how many other people are like this.

This is an interesting thread. I see images to go with words I read or hear. I sometimes see the letters of words when I'm hearing them. I thought this was common. I wonder: Do most people see images or letters to represent words? If not, what do they experience when reading?

Yeah, I do. I see words, sentences, like I would read them. (in my head)
I feel relieved, as you're the first I know to experience it too.
Wow.. At first, It was so weird to understand that other people are not like that..? And then, to find you.
It is a bit hard to talk to people with strange word dispositions, I «replace» the mess, add something.. its not always on my mind at the same intensity, but I know its there.

(..sorry for my bad English and lack of vocabulary )