do you need clear instructions?

Post Reply New Topic

I hate it when I'm told I'll just learn how to use the TV I'm about to buy. I want to know exactly which buttons to press. I used to type for hearing impaired students in college for a while, and the professor was going on and on about how some people do something for a selfish reason and some for altruistic reasons. If I had to learn something in order to get a good job, I'd rather be told exactly what I have to do instead of finding names to things and getting philosophic about it.

I want clear instructions as how to handle situations. Dont tell me to stand up to a bully. Tell me the exact words I should use and show me the self defense moves. that kind of thing.

is this an aspie thing?

I have seen people pose this question before that I would never assume to be on the spectrum. In the case of a TV there are instruction manuals that should say how to operate it. I can't imagine a salesman wanting to spend his time trying to teach a customer how to use a TV he may never have himself, especially if all the functions can't be demonstrated while it's on display, or if it's so complex they don't believe you could possibly memorize every function it has without being able to try each out in real time.

I wouldn't say it's a good thing a salesman wouldn't, I just assume that they would be more concerned with making easier commissions. And for someone paid hourly or salary alone they probably wouldn't be as invested in their job to warrant learning about the products unless they were really high end. I'm thinking of like a typical bigbox electronics store.

As far as subjects that don't come with an instruction manual, then yeah I can see how wanting an accurate explanation of what tasks need to be accomplished is desirable.

Didn't think of it until just now, but at my job there is a lot of ambiguity in the rules and description. A perfect example where I have trouble but just recently in the last month or so I started realizing that the company themselves are just incompetent because many other co workers are having the same issues.

I am the exact same way. I absolutely think this is an Aspie thing. I am taking Calculus right now- and the professor just shows us how to do problems, without actually giving step-by-step directions for every single problem.. and this is a real issue for me. I need to have exact directions in order to complete the problem correctly- otherwise I will just try doing each problem the same way as the one she showed us. Oh, and I also have to have them written down- if you try telling me directions, I will get lost/ focus on the first step, so I don't even hear most of the directions. So no, you are definitely not in the minority here.

Not only do I want clear and concise written instructions, if you want it done a certain way, don't leave any guesswork or decisions up to me - specify exactly what you want. I can guarantee that if you leave it up to me to improvise, you won't like the way I do it.

As for something like a TV remote, however, I don't have the patience to stand and listen to a clueless sales associate explain something that A) he or she doesn't really fully understand themselves, and B) isn't going to interact with my own home system the way it works there in the store. That's what the manual is for and I'd rather read it for myself.

This is why I was never able to pass a higher math course. People who are good at math (like math teachers) just assume that you understand and follow it as easily as they do, and tend to demonstrate, without really explaining that they're doing. If you ask a question, they demonstrate again, but don't make the logic any clearer. Its obvious to them, and they can't even seem to imagine how anyone could not see what they see.

Yes I do need clear instructions. If you want me to do my job right, you have to give me all instructions. If I see there are holes and gaps, I will ask how to do it and what do I need to do exactly.


As for the TV, the volume button is what controls the sound on the TV and the channels buttons is what lets you pick what channel to watch and the power button is what turns the TV on and off. These are the basics. Then there are inputs and menu button and it gets complicated which is why you use the instruction manual or just mess around on the TV to figure it out. Some people are good with electronics. We just got new cable boxes to save money and I had to mess around to figure out how to record and how to set a recording schedule and how to get to my recorded shows. I do good with visual instructions so my husband has showed me the steps by having me watch him and him showing me what button to push. Written is more complicated.

People think I'm weird because the first thing I want to do upon buying or receiving a new item is read the manual. Most people I deal with just figure it out by using or "playing" with the product. I find by reading the manual often I learn important functionality because it answered a question I never would have thought to ask.

Yes I do for some things like what to do at work. Not so much with how to work new appliances though

I most definitely prefer clear instructions to ambiguous ones. I particularly hate it when people get angry with me for not following their vaguely worded and/or incomplete instructions. I'm not sure if it's an aspie thing or not, but I'm guessing that it is.

I do this too to some degree. But some things can be so complex or have so many functions that it's overwhelming and I'll often just make do with basic functionality even if there are better time saving or easier options to use like the ones you would discover by reading the manual in detail.

I do both of those. People hate it when I then ask for more detailed instructions. They think it's all so obvious that they don't have to clarify it. I guess they sometimes think I am stupid because of that.

I also read the manual and then try the steps like they are written down there. I don't like to "play" just on my own with a new product. But it's strange when people "play" without reading the manual and then get angry because something doesn't work like they want. I mean, it's their own fault, they could just read the manual and be more relaxed.

Verbal/written instructions can actually make me understand less. When I hear/read complicated instruction I get confused and start questioning some words. "Why is it 'on-off' button and not 'power' button now? Are they two different buttons or those are two names for the same button?".

If someone tries to teach me something I prefer him to be precise and show or draw stuffs instead of using verbal explanations. However I am fine with figuring stuffs out on my own too. I rarely need help with using new devices and doing other technical stuffs. I have natural talent in this field.

Social and planning related stuffs are more of a problem though. I need a lot of help and clear instructions because I get lost otherwise. But sometimes even instructions don't help much because I just don't understand the mechanisms. Clear instructions will be done without much thinking, in robotic, inflexible way. Yet general instructions will leave me confused and doing nothing/doing the wrong thing.

For things I need instructions for I prefer clear ones....and by clear I mean I have to see it, like when I had my work-study job and had to use a copier machine, no way in hell would I have figured it out if someone just verbally told me what to do...I have to have someone show me in real time, and then once I get it I can remember. I don't really have much trouble with t.vs, computers and things with a screen I typically don't even bother with the instruction manual as I can usually just figure everything out. Typically if something confuses me then I might consult the directions or the internet....like when I couldn't figure out how to get my Vinyl player to start spinning and found i have to pull the needle to the right until it clicks to reset it or whatever.

Something similar happens to me. If I'm given complicated directions I may have enough information to understand part of the bigger picture the instructions are for. So I'll start trying to see how it's all connected to get a better understanding of the task. But then I find a gap in the idea where I think a rule should have been written down but wasn't.

So I'm left questioning "did they forget to put this rule in? or am I actually mistaken and drawing the wrong conclusion as to what they want done?"

I don't need sequential instructions, I usually try to figure things out myself.

Same here

I also need very clear and detailed instructions. I have found paradoxically that experts are the worst teachers (for me, I'm sure they work for some people). They have lost sight of where the steepest learning curves are because it has been so long since they learned it themselves.

For me, the best teachers are the ones who recently learned it themselves because they include the most details. None of it is yet second nature to them so they give the most detailed instructions. Experts often leave things out because they forgot that some things aren't intuitive.

Youtube videos are also good. No one single video covers all the needed instruction but if you watch videos made by a variety of people, you get an aggregate of the details necessary.