Do you have trouble following instructions?

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Yes, I have troubles following directions.

I can't follow instructions. And you can't tell me to go "over there" and point. You have to actually say where is. IE, you have to tell me that I've got to walk to the end of the road, turn left and then cross over.

Yeah I get lost after just a couple spoken steps in a set of instructions. I need to write it down at that point.

I can follow verbal instructions if the subject interests me. If it does not it is very hard for me to follow instructions even if it is a simple task. If I feel anxious I will not be able to follow instructions even if the subject matter is simple. I prefer written instruction that I can view in my own time on my own and can use as a reference.

Yes, it's a working memory problem (the part of the brain which holds information relating to the current task and situation that is not intended for long-term storage). ASD people can't "hold" more than one thing in our working memory at a time, so therefore if we are given multiple things, we can only hold one (whichever is first or appears most important) and drop the rest. That's also why we have difficulty going back to a task if we are interrupted. We had to drop the contents of our working memory regarding that task to attend to something else, so then we have to figure out what we are doing from scratch again.

I don't get frustrated easily, but one thing that makes me mad very quickly is when people give me verbal instructions in several steps and expect me to remember them all. I have to write things down. And if I didn't make lists of the things I had to do I would never do anything.

SHEESH! I did it again today!! "Get two cans of green beans and use the can opener to open them" my brain hears get green beans and open them with the can opener. Then mom asked after I struggled opening one can "You didn't get two." SHEESH! It's annoying! I feel like an idiot!! !!

I'm fine with written instructions, but oral ones are a problem.

One thing that used to absolutely amaze me was the president of a company where I used to work.

He would frequently go out of town to various business meetings with customers and potential customers. When he returned, he would tell us about the various meetings, who was there, and what they talked about in very great detail including the full discussions on all of the important points. If it was an hour long meeting, it would often take at least half an hour for him to tell us about the meeting.

I suppose I can, but it really depends on if I want to do the task or not.

that's the way i feel most of the time.

Like most of you I can only concentrate on remembering one instruction at a time.

I got written up several times and nearly got fired over this very thing.

I was working in a real estate title plant doing researching abandoned properties. There was a certain way to do the reports, and since I was new to the industry I asked my supervisor lots of questions. But I still kept making mistakes. Why? Because when I asked questions, I didn't write down what I was told but rather just went back to my desk trying to hold it in my mind. As a result, I remembered it for that report, but not for when I had that situation again. And when I would ask about it, I swore -- and believed it -- that I had no idea we had ever talked about it before.

Ditto for office meetings where new procedures were brought up and implemented. I would take notes during the meetings, but without realizing it, I would float off into my personal dreamland, and not write some things down. Then when I would ask questions, I would be told "We talked about that in the meeting." I would have to say "I don't remember that." They got tired of me saying that all the time and nearly canned me over it. I eventually DID get fired, but not for that.