Autism and processing difficulties
Written on 30th Jul 2021 by Alex Lowery
One of the biggest difficulties I’ve always had is with processing information. This has always affected my ability to learn because of my slow processing speed. I sometimes have a hard time reading long paragraphs. Not because I can’t actually read them but because I struggle to process such a wide variety of information at the same time as reading it, particularly if it’s not even a subject of interest.
I really struggle to process loads of instructions at once and I cope better when I’m given one clear instructions at a time, with the use of language that can only be taken one way.
I also find when listening to people talk that I struggle to process it when people deliver loads of information at once. I remember when I was younger being asked to listen to an audio book of Winston Churchill and I was extremely bored and could not concentrate on it at all as it was told in a rather emotionless voice. I enjoy audio books but they have to be either dramatised or read by a professional who puts on different voices as characters and reads with emotion/feeling.
I also do find even when watching films and TV shows, that there will tend to be certain details I struggle to process. Sometimes I could even love the film to death with its engaging story and characters but because of my processing difficulties, might find theres aspects and certain plot details that completely go over my head.
Several years ago I had my IQ assessed and I had a very spiky profile with some things being higher than others. My greatest area of difficulty was clearly with processing speed which was only in the early 70s. This goes to show how much of a difficulty I have in this area and how much in impacts my life.
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