3:38am September 16, 2014

➸ On Multitasking - elmindreda - autistic history

Much has been written about the autistic person’s lack of multitasking ability. I was rather surprised by these claims and will attempt to explain why by giving a personal, inside perspective on it.

Some of the issues I will list below aren’t included in the diagnostic criteria for any form of autism, even implicitly, but rather connected to labels like synaesthesia or auditory processing disorder, but sensory issues of one kind or another seem to me to be sufficiently common among autistic people that I believe it is something worth looking into.

My hypothesis, based on my own experience as well as that of my friends, that it may not always be an inability to multitaskper se, even though it may seem that way to an outside observer, but may instead be an inability to fully emulate neurotypical behaviour when lacking the necessary, high-level automation.

(Click on the above link to read elmindreda’s full article on autism and multitasking.)

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