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11:25am April 18, 2013

➸ Trying to find the right words: And...

josiahd:

…there is something that I recognize in the writing of certain autistic people that goes far beyond the literal meanings of the words.

There are layers. Patterns. Something that just feels so fundamentally right and comprehensible.

We’re supposed to not be able to understand subtext, though….

I’ve actually known some autistic people who are basically hyperverbal, and their brains have prioritized verbal things over all nonverbal things, including nonverbal communication. And they seemed to genuinely be like that, not just think they were. Other people seemed to think they were like that, but did seem to understand some people’s body language. So I think both can happen.

The hyperverbal people I know, I can actually often pick up on it just through the way they use words online. I can’t describe it, but it is a little abrasive to me. Not because of anything wrong with them, just because of a fundamental incompatibility between their best communication methods and my best communication methods.