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zeldapsychology
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16 Feb 2016, 7:20 pm

If I hear arguing I focus on hearing that just fine. But I was on the computer and didn't notice the 16 year old sneaking out to meet a guy (my little sister) another time was me watching a movie and didn't notice the dogs barking in the living room again snuck a guy in about age 15.

I saw brown stuff assuming it was left out from breakfast (this was around 8:30 AM breakfast made about 6:30 BTW) (Dad had left for work) so I put the brown stuff in the fridge. Turned out it was chocolate chips for a desert thing that had to stay warm NOT get cold but OMG! if I had paid attention I would have known mom was making the desert thing the other night OMG!

Paid attention I would have noticed both cases of the Boy drama! OMG!

I can get so wrapped up sitting in front of the house I can get into a good book (which I love reading). Even with cars driving past BTW. Or into a Mario game hours pass. As most with Asperger's do but this is becoming a major issue!

I can't stay alert 24/7 I'm not a hawk on diligent watch paying attention every second that's too exhausting! HELP!



mattdens
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16 Feb 2016, 8:06 pm

Don't be too hard on yourself.
With regards to your sister, the key word there is "sneaking", she was probably trying very hard to make sure you didn't notice.
As for the chocolate chips, putting them in the fridge sounds like a pretty reasonable thing to do, it's not like you tried putting the cat in there.
Aspies can have a tendency to be focused so heavily on certain things, that we become oblivious to what's going on around us, but that's just how we are.



EzraS
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16 Feb 2016, 9:14 pm

Very typical with autism I think. But everyone operates on "auto-pilot" to some degree and does things without thinking. Like putting something on the roof of their car to open the door, and then drive off with the item still there.



ToughDiamond
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16 Feb 2016, 9:35 pm

Sure, you can't have hyperfocus without losing some of the global input. I gather that when a cat is watching a jar of live mice, the cat literally can't hear a bell sounding.



AsahiPto17
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16 Feb 2016, 9:45 pm

I'm always forgetting things, not noticing things, and blocking things out that aren't in my focus. But at the same time things distract me easily too, which is weird because you would think that those two would be somewhat mutually exclusive, but I guess not.

I think that aspies have a bit of a tunnel vision focus.



zeldapsychology
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19 Feb 2016, 9:02 am

I did it again today! Didn't notice a neighborhood dog and its owner coming near. Just lost in thought! I also "thought" saw a neighborhood car pull into a driveway but then it was gone. WEIRD I'm losing it! This annoys my family so much. My older sister said I should pay more attention to what's going on around me. :-(



shadowtag
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19 Feb 2016, 9:53 am

Don't feel bad your not the only one,I'm oftenly so lost in some kind of thought that someone can yell my name and I assume it is for someone or something else,that is until my name is bellowed out so loud that it startles me,oftentimes at that juncture,I think I'm just now being called and wonder why the heck am I being yelled at so loud,but supposedly I was being called many times before that,and I have good hearing.



nerdygirl
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19 Feb 2016, 10:53 am

I am the same way.
Absent-minded! So lost in the thoughts in my own head or hyperfocused on whatever activity I am doing at the moment.
I had to work *very* hard to overcome this when my kids were small so that I would be attentive enough to make sure they didn't get hurt!
My family does get annoyed by this, but there are ways around it. I tell them they need to call my name and make sure they have my attention before starting to talk to me. Otherwise, I will miss it.

When I was in first grade, I got lost in a book I was reading. I was so zoned-in on the book that I did not hear my teacher call my reading group up front. She called my name several times and I still didn't respond. Eventually, she had to send another student to tap me on the shoulder in order to get my attention. I was so oblivious, she sincerely thought I had a hearing problem. Nope, no hearing problems. In fact, in any hearing tests I've tested sensitive.

So, I've had this problem all my life. It has not really gotten better or worse. I've only learned how to manage it.



DestinedToBeAPotato
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19 Feb 2016, 11:15 am

Yes. I get so absorbed in what I am doing that I lose focus of everything that's going on around me. Ahh Hyperfocusing. It's a curse and a gift at the same time.


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Yigeren
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19 Feb 2016, 11:40 am

Being inattentive is just a part of poor executive functioning, which is a major characteristic of ASD and ADHD.

I don't have too much of a problem with it, but I do totally ignore what's around me when I hyperfocus, and I lose things a lot.



Memphisto
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19 Feb 2016, 12:12 pm

Wow, this sounds a lot like what I do. Often, I'll become so focused on something that I won't notice things that are quite obvious to everyone else. Also, someone might tell me to do something and I'll end up forgetting because I'm so focused and can't stop what I'm doing. Yet on the other hand, when I'm not hyper-focused I tend to notice more things than others do, or at least different things. For example, at a family gathering I tend to be silent and instead notice other details that everyone else seems oblivious to; flies buzzing about, when someone has left the room and no one else knows where they've gone, that sort of thing.

I've explained to a relative once or twice that I feel like my focus is a cone sometimes and everything else ceases to exist. My ears are sensitive, but my guardian is always noticing sounds in the distance that I don't because I can't be bothered to when I'm focusing on something else.



Jo_B1_Kenobi
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19 Feb 2016, 3:44 pm

ToughDiamond wrote:
Sure, you can't have hyperfocus without losing some of the global input. I gather that when a cat is watching a jar of live mice, the cat literally can't hear a bell sounding.



Wow - that is so cool!


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