NTs taking metaphors literally Vs ASD people doing the same

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Joe90
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17 Jul 2021, 3:43 pm

AngelL wrote:
Joe90 wrote:
Because I have a habit of writing a thread before thinking, I suppose.


~raises hand~ Member of that club, too. Thanks for the honesty. Serving it with a side dish of self-awareness was a nice touch. :)


Yeah, I have ADHD so I can be very impulsive. I get a thought in my head and think "oh I've got to post this!"
:)


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The Grand Inquisitor
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17 Jul 2021, 10:39 pm

It's true that anybody who hasn't heard a specific metaphor before, that is delivered without adequate context clues, likely won't understand it. It's also true that some people on the spectrum tend to have a harder time with figurative language, and are more prone to interpreting figurative statements literally.

I'm generally pretty capable at picking up on figurative language now, but I remember a time in 3rd grade when I needed help with some classwork and the teacher told me she'd be over to help me in a minute. Not realising that she wasn't speaking literally, I counted down 60 seconds and called out to the teacher telling her that a minute had passed.

The point I'm making is that when people say that those on the spectrum struggle more with metaphors, they don't just mean metaphors that one can only understand if they already know its meaning. They're talking about all types of figurative language that most people are able to pick up on intuitively, but that some autistic people struggle with.



HeroOfHyrule
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17 Jul 2021, 10:46 pm

The Grand Inquisitor wrote:
I'm generally pretty capable at picking up on figurative language now, but I remember a time in 3rd grade when I needed help with some classwork and the teacher told me she'd be over to help me in a minute. Not realising that she wasn't speaking literally, I counted down 60 seconds and called out to the teacher telling her that a minute had passed.

I had issues with the same thing. It's funny now, but was annoying for everyone around me because it took me until relatively recently (maybe the past few years) to properly get things like that.