I'm pretty slow at understanding some things

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How about people who are mean to mice have as much chance of getting into heaven after death as a whale has of swimming through the eye of a needle.

Does that count?


(Sorry, couldn't resist )

sw's chances of getting a significant resolution in this thread * by a "non-math" operation,* is as likely as the terminator would be in throwing in the towel and giving up the chase.

btw, I have 2 chrome windows open, with 24 tabs each and I regularly surf the internet with a minimum total of 30 tabs open at all times. Is that an aspie thing to do?

Definitely sounds like what a bored Aspie with a powerful PC would do...

Just wanted to elaborate about the whole ADHD thing, at least from my perspective. I can do math just fine, but I'm bad with holding numbers in my head. When it gets more abstract, such as algebra, I start to shine. If you ask me how much money to pay for a tip at a restaurant, I'll stumble and often come up with the wrong answer. If I don't have my trusty calculator with me, I'll overpay just to be safe. If I have a pencil, though, the problem is solved. In addition, I can do math like calculus and enjoy it. It's a strange combination. It has to do with working memory problems.

My actual memory is fine, but I have trouble keeping facts and details in my head. Unlike a lot of autistic people who don't filter anything, I seem to have an overactive filter. Not a whole lot gets in except what I'm interested in or paying attention to. That's great when I'm tuned into the right thing. When I'm paying attention to the wrong details, however, I can run into trouble and not know why. Also, I'd not rule out ADHD simply because you can concentrate during a test setting. Often times the adrenaline of being in an exam setting can mask concentration difficulties. Where you'll notice a problem will be in a quiet setting at home when you have 1000 pages of dry reading material. That's the kind of setting that will put me to sleep. If I'm not asleep, my mind might be elsewhere. Or I'll "wake up" and find myself magically surfing the internet or doing chores. Read: Anything but what I'm supposed to be reading.

A similar issue can be seen with my language skills. My actual language processing is fine, but I have trouble putting it all together in a conversation. I frequently say the wrong words, I have a stutter, and other times my language gets garbled (so nothing but gibberish comes out or words get smashed together in unique ways). It's mostly because my "inner speech" is faster than my mouth's ability to produce sounds. I talk too fast. If I slow down and really enunciate, I do okay. Part of the problem is that I am a bit impatient, but it's also another side effect of working memory problems. Because I know I'll get sidetracked and forget what I say, it's also sometimes necessary for me to blurt stuff out as fast as I think of it. If I don't, I run the risk of not remembering what I was going to say. It causes me to interrupt people and be rude at times, so I try not to. But I now understand better why I do that.

From what I was reading of your conversation, it sounds like you are over-analyzing a bit based on incorrect assumptions. It sounds like a theory of mind problem. Not a lack of theory of mind, per say, but as someone else suggested, perhaps an overabundance of it. You're thinking too much. How to fix it, I'm not sure. Just keep track of when you do it and perhaps even make a list of assumptions that aren't "safe" to make. For example, "Not everyone will look up words or phrases that they don't know." Doing so might help you not fall into the same traps.

Lastly, I'd say that, as an ADHD'er, I am socially nearsighted-- not really socially blind. I understand most of what goes on and can read social cues pretty well. However, I miss stuff because I'm paying attention to the wrong things. That and I have trouble with the overall "execution" of a conversation or social interaction. I make a lot of mistakes. I often realize what I'm doing wrong, but it's usually after the fact. I think that's one distinction between ADHD and AS from what I've observed. If you find yourself frequently going wrong and at the same time aware of that fact, then it's probably ADHD and not AS.
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I can't even do a 2 column addition in my head. For server tips I'll multiply it by 10 or 20 percent in my head and split it in two to get 15% gratuity. Say it's 30 bucks on tab, then 10%=3, 20%= 6-- the middle is $ 4.50.

But, an aspie's attention switching speeds aren't high enough for that level of multitasking, are they? (Maybe they are.)