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AlexWelshman
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03 Mar 2012, 9:11 am

Are there any autistic people who have difficulty following verbal instructions &/or struggle with following too many instructions at once?



WhiteWidow
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03 Mar 2012, 10:06 am

I've always had difficulty following verbal instructions. I use to work retail and when they told me to fold clothes I would have a really hard time b/c I would leave the stand full of expensive clothes in the middle of the store unattended while I helped a customer. I didn't see this as a problem, but they saw it as a loss prevention issue. It didn't occur to me since they told me that helping customers was number one but they never said to make sure someone attends your post before you go and help a customer.

Or in class sometimes the instructor will give assignment instructions but I'll have to raise my hand to ask her to repeat the instructions or I'll have to see her privately b/c the whole thing is jibberish to me at first.



Alexender
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03 Mar 2012, 10:29 am

Lol yeah.

If my boss at work said multiple things to do then as soon as he left I would ask a co worker standing next to me what was I supposed to do. French class I zoned out all the time because I didn't know the language. If a teacher is just lecturing I don't remember any of it. Getting directions on the phone doesn't work for me, I will stop paying attention. But I also have been diagnosed with add.


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animalcrackers
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03 Mar 2012, 12:57 pm

If someone asks me to do something that has two or three steps, I might understand and remember one step. The more complicated the instructions, the less likely I am to understand/retain anything at all. I need people to write things down for me, or to speak slowly enough for me to write everything down.

I usually need people to repeat their instructions at least once. When people speak quickly their instructions get garbled and I don't understand anything they've said....this seems to be because my brain skips over things when I try to process words that are coming in too fast.

For example, if someone said to me:

"Go get the big blue ball, and put it into the bin behind the door. Then go and get the small red ball and yellow balls and put them into the cupboard in the closet. After that, move the orange rectangle into the hallway. Don't touch any of the blue cubes and be careful not to move any of the purple balls."

This is what my brain might process:

"Go get.....blue ball....small.....red.....orange.....cube......purple......door.....bin....careful...closet"


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