Why I prefer to write than speak

Welcome to my second blog post on autism from a writer's perspective.

Today,  I'm going to talk about slower processing of information in some people with autism. This in no way denotes a lack of intelligence or ability but it just requires more effort and/or will take us longer to absorb or arrive there. 

One reason I prefer to write than speak is that I have time to think, choose my words, fine-tune, edit. I've always said that I'm much better at communicating in the written word than the spoken one. I've made a video which I'm including here although speaking on video doesn't come naturally to me!  Maybe recorded monologues are even more difficult. I'm sure they make many of us uneasy, a bit like talking into an answerphone!  But at least you can scrub it and start again or choose not to upload it. But I'm sure like me many of you have devised ways to do it such as writing down beforehand what you want to say. In fact, I know many fellow autistcs do this because I've seen such posts in forums.

Also on YouTube: https://youtu.be/PuVPj6jWApg

But I've always admired and envied those who can think on their feet and come out with impressive phraseology and sentences that I could only dream about and they didn't seem at all anxious or nervous. So when I read about the slower processing that can present in some people with autism it makes perfect sense to me. I can’t take in too much at once especially if there’s a pressure to do so or if there's a time limit. It's a wonder how I was successful in exams but then everyone else was in the same boat, we weren't sharing our answers out loud with anyone else and I had a good memory. I was also writing rather than speaking. But exams apart It takes me a while to process and take in complex or fast moving information. When I watched films as a child I wasn’t  the only one in my family who’d be trying to follow a plot and irritating others (usually cousins) asking why he did this or she said that! Nowadays I’m trying to take in some witty banter from three scenes ago in Coronation Street and it’s hard to catch up with the present. Oh the wonder of the rewind button but it can disrupt the flow. 

But when I was diagnosed with autism something clicked into place as to why I prefer writing and maybe have more strength in this area as compensation for having been so tongue-tied in my youth. After all I love to communicate too. My brain is just differently wired with different strengths and weaknesses. 

I did managed to salvage the video, after all. What you won't see is anything slick! 

Well, that's all for today. Next time I hope to look at the reading side of things and taking in visual information. 

I'm attaching a link which relates both to this and the next blog which you might find interesting:

https://aspiedent.com/index.php/blog/what-slow-processing-autism-neurodiversity

So until next time...please do leave your comments below.