Hearing something different to other people

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I notice that when I get clear instructions, I feel like I've understood fully and I even ask for clarification but I still seem to carry out the task wrong when compared to everyone else

Is this a common thing in autism or ADHD or Asperger's syndrome or what

It's like I've had a completely different set of instructions to everyone else

Nobody's ever said anything but I do notice it

Only if the person explaining the instructions to me is very poor at explaining things. Otherwise, usually I can cotton on, if the instructions aren't beyond my knowledge or capabilities of course.

This happens to me sometimes. I can know exactly what was said but I can overthink things & overly focus on the fine details. Some things say autistics are literal thinkers who lack common sense & that's probably a factor for me as well.

There can be multiple ways of interpreting what people say. Sometimes you only know if you share common experiences with the other person.

Yep. I think it's a matter of not processing the entire stream of words that were spoken. Learning to apologize can help.

Auditory processing issues
Language processing issues
Unspoken contextual gaps
Communication style differences
Working memory issues
Verbal processing issues

Yes, attentional resources and processing itself can be an issue


I have this issue for most of my life.
As for as if speaking a different language, it's not just receptively (reading, listening, receiving in general), but also expressively.

Even go as early as a 5 year old.
But it wasn't always as bad when I was younger...
It got somewhat worse as I gotten older.
Sure there are few things that gotten easier (by losing some distracting internal crap), but there are still hung ups that couldn't be passed off as typical human error.

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I find others have this problem sometimes too, while I've cottoned on right away to what they mean.

Like when I was about 12 when the doctor was looking in my ears and couldn't see anything but wax, she said, "oh that's bad, can't see anything at all in there" - meaning there was so much wax in my ear that she couldn't see the eardrum or anything like that. But my mum thought she meant she couldn't see any wax at all, even though the doctor's tone of voice suggested concern. I felt embarrassed on the doctor's behalf, so I quickly informed my mum by saying that the doctor meant there was too much wax in my ear.

Different interpretations of what they said is definitely one option.

Also, my memory is not very good—especially for things I've only heard.

Yes...often, I see this has been
happening.

Normal: People with autism can have enormous difficulty following verbal instructions.

Both verbal and nonverbal communication are essentially abstract; verbal language in autism is somewhat difficult precisely because people with autism are essentially visual. To facilitate communication in people with autism, it would therefore be appropriate to use visual communication systems in which the connection between symbol and meaning is clearly evident.

A common feature of all autism spectrum disorders appears to be early language delay, except for Asperger's syndrome, which differs in the absence of language delay. Because there are many types of autism, it is difficult to predict when and if language will emerge in a person.

This happens to me a lot. People used to ask me if I was deaf because of it.

In a certain sense,we are deaf in this regard.
Or socially hearing impaired.

A thread on statistics here would be interesting.
For example, who among you is able to understand instructions over the phone (not written)?

I have a good memory, but I tend to immediately write everything down and date the call itself, because then I forget.
Anyway, it's not a memory problem.
But something else.

I think a lot of it is processing speed sprinkled with some literal thinking / ToM deficits...been there a few times my brothers and sisters!!

It helps to paraphrase back in your own words what you believe was said. Or, in your own words as much as possible, not 100% (watch that literal thinking )

Part of it might also be motor skill deficits in completing the task, in which case it's not an auditory processing problem. But perhaps I digress there...

I find that sometimes deep breathing or mindfulness meditation exercises beforehand, before your shift or whatever, can really help. Not saying it works for everyone, but I've found some utility in it. Sometimes the mind needs a "flush" to reduce any persistent thoughts, rumination, eager thinking about special interests, etc., that could interfere with auditory processing of the task at hand.

On the other hand, sometimes I 'piggy-back' on someone else's understanding and end up with extra knowledge. Maybe that's what was happening with the Japanese.

Mimesis. Is an interesting variable to me in autism.