overinterpretation

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Do you think the autistic's difficulty with tone of voice could be over-interpretation as well as not hearing tone of voice at all?
I have to process intellectually when my instinct tells me to be offended and this is after years of being told I was hyper-sensitive.
My son and I sometimes misinterpret each others intentions because we are reading too much into each others tone. But at this point we don't argue about it, we'll ask if the tone was intended and if not we let it go.

Good point. I certainly do that. And I have a hard time deciphering whether someone is upset or angry with me or someone or something else. I absorb vibes like a sponge. I also have strong vibes myself. I'm always trying to tone myself down, and explain to my son that I may be upset, but not at him. Not easy to do.

I don't know. I've always been both overly sensitive to stress, tension, or anger in others. My problem is I mirror the emotions so much that I can't respond productively. If someone around me is acting stressed or upset I get so stressed that I can't function. I feel agitated, or shaky, or sick to my stomach. When people are yelling or talking in raised voices I have to leave or I start feeling like I might explode myself.

I also seem to over-read / over-react in situations where I'm dealing with service people. If I'm trying to ask a question and the other person glances away or does something that signals they might be distracted or not listening I get all discombobulated and forget what I was trying to say. Also, once I get "put off" by someone by something I perceive as rude I have trouble continuing to interact with them. It's like I'm frazzled from that point on.

I generally have horrible trouble in places where there's a lot of hectic activity and noise. My nerves get all out of sorts and I'm prone to become extremely irritable if I can't find a place to relax and seek comfort afterwards.

I always wondered if some of this is related to a heightened fight-or-flight response. My muscles are also unusually tense, I cringe easily at unpleasant sounds, and am more sensitive than most guys to cold and heat.

I have so many problems with tone and also with over-thinking things. Yeesh.
Maybe its that some can receive signal, but can't sort through it too well. Just occurred to me now that there might be different levels of importance in body language. Perhaps this is obvious to some. It may contribute to over-analysis.