Taking things literally - spoken against written.

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I don't take things literally and I love metaphorical, symbolic, language written or spoken. My biggest issue is communication with others and "getting" where they are at emotionally and mentally. There's so many misunderstandings between me and them. It's like, I am never in the same "place" as them on a mental level. They are having one conversation and I am having another, most the time.

That happens to me too ooOoOoOAnaOoOoOoo (whew)
I also think I have problems because I see too many possible interpretations. Someone will say something to me and I'll respond noncommittally and then I'll obsess later on about what they really meant. It's my favorite way to drive myself crazy.

I rarely understand metaphors, spoken or written. I like writing weird symbolic poetry, but if someone else writes it... I'll have NO idea what it's supposed to mean.

I guess written, because when it's spoken you get the intonation which is a good clue and I can read it pretty well. But with written stuff, I tend to add the wrong intonation in my mind a lot of the time. XD;; I can usually recognize written sarcasm, (because it's so deliberate) but like.. just stuff that's intended to be straightforward but that might mean one thing or the other.. how do you even tell?

I don't know if it's the same thing, but I have a lot of trouble recognizing when people are joking. If something is said with a straight face and sounds as if it could be plausible, I will likely assume the person means it, but by the reactions of them and other people, it seems like it was obvious to everyone else that it was a joke.

Yeah. I remember times when someone told me something I thought was mean and insulting, and I got mad at them, but they said they were joking. I understand humor when there's a particular voice inflection or it's just completely obvious like slapstick humor. I get sarcasm most of the time, too. It's when someone clearly sounds like they're being serious that I don't catch it. I would think anyone would feel the same, not just those with autism.

Nothing like having the bad habit of answering rhetorical questions in a class with a professor who asks them all the time...