Why do autistic people talk to themselves?

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justanotherpersonsomewhere23124
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01 Dec 2023, 12:10 am

Is there anything wrong with it? Why do NTs not like it when autistic people do it?



IsabellaLinton
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01 Dec 2023, 12:31 am

I don't talk to myself.


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01 Dec 2023, 12:47 am

I'm the only person who will listen to me apart from my psychiatrist.


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01 Dec 2023, 12:52 am

justanotherpersonsomewhere23124 wrote:
Why do autistic people talk to themselves?
I don't know about the others, but it is so I can have a dialog with my inner self -- to "think out loud".
justanotherpersonsomewhere23124 wrote:
Is there anything wrong with it?
Not particularly, unless you are talking to the "voices in your head" and they're telling you to commit awful, horrible things?
justanotherpersonsomewhere23124 wrote:
Why do NTs not like it when autistic people do it?
Because it makes you seem either "mentally deficient" (the "R-word") or schizophrenic (and therefore dangerous).



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01 Dec 2023, 5:44 am

To be able to have an intelligent conversation...


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jamie0.0
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01 Dec 2023, 6:24 am

1. Sometimes my thoughts are all jumbled up so I need to say things out loud to stabilise my train of thought

2. It's easier for me to remember talk instead of thoughts, before I go to the shops, I say out loud. "I'm going to buy eggs, milk, flour" hoping that I'll remember to buy everything I went in for



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01 Dec 2023, 6:26 am

I do it, but idk it helps me organize my thoughts and plan for the day so I can get myself ready for whatever I have to do that day.


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01 Dec 2023, 7:21 am

Out of a need to hear one's thoughts verbalized?

"Normally" one is expected to spend one's waking life talking to others and listening to their responses. I guess if that doesn't come naturally, you end up talking to no one. When I worked in an office, I would sometimes find myself quietly repeating aspects of a conversation I just had, involuntarily. Probably because I was still processing that conversation. I would worry that people would see this and imagine stuff such as maybe I was schizophrenic. I would also waggle my fingers, something I don't otherwise do.


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01 Dec 2023, 8:00 am

Aside from schizophrenia, sometimes people talk to themselves when they are overstimulated or under stress and are processing things. Even NT's can do this.



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01 Dec 2023, 8:47 am

Depending on the time and place, it could be disruptive to have someone around you talking to themself. Example, a classroom setting during a test or some other situation where focus is needed. It could also be concerning to someone say, walking down the street, to see a person heading towards them carrying on all to themself. It might look as mental illness which could be seen as potentially threatening or dangerous.

Personally, I do talk to myself. I'm not sure if I do that in public, I mean, I know I have before, but I don't think that's too common for me. Mostly it's a thing I do at home while pacing, trying to work something out in my head. It can be helpful to me to form actual words and speak them rather than mull over more abstract concepts silently in my head.



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01 Dec 2023, 8:52 am

Autistic people talk to themselves because they sometimes find no one else is listening!

Is also a means of verbal stimming to relieve internal mental stress.



yurguardianangel
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01 Dec 2023, 8:54 am

I only talk to myself in private because I'm socially isolated,extremely lonely and have almost no friends.
Mostly it's to get ideas and thoughts off my head.



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01 Dec 2023, 9:41 am

" I like talking to myself. You know why? I like dealing with a better class of people." Rodney Dangerfield.

I've always liked that quote. I don't do it often but I have found that; when im tired, I tend to speak out loud to myself. I frequently say the same thing though so I'm not sure if it's in the same category.



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01 Dec 2023, 10:26 am

I think everyone does this to a certain extent, but I definitely do it to a GREAT extent. I think part of it is because I'm alone most of the time, and it helps to hear a voice, even if it's mine. Sometimes, I'm fantasizing about being able to tell someone about something, and being able to hear my own voice saying what I would say to them is somehow satisfying... even though I very rarely fantasize what they might say in return.


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01 Dec 2023, 11:28 am

I do it all the time, and I don’t know why. My wife refers to it as “mumbling”, which is an apt description. I think sometimes I get so far into my head talking to myself helps sort out my thoughts. Sometimes I mumble about stuff other people really should not hear. But I simply cannot help myself. It is truly unconscious. I think I do so more often when I am feeling anxious and when I have been suppressing feelings and not expressing what I’d like to say.



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01 Dec 2023, 2:16 pm

I mostly talk to myself bc my thoughts go too fast and get jumbled and i forget a lot of stuff