Non-literal language/ Figurative speech

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How many people with a diagnosis find they have no problem with figurative speech (or taking things literally more than the average person) and actually use it themselves naturally?

I've made it a special interest. I enjoy picking apart language and constructing interesting word combinations. However, I do have difficulty when hearing a colloquialism for the first time. Also, I sometimes find myself responding to a literal interpretation even though I realise there is a figurative alternative. My instinct is literal interpretation but I still get the figurative. As to using it, I have no problem most of the time, but I will mess up a figurative colloquialism now and again when speaking but not to the level of "people in glass houses sink ships."

I understand figurative speech.

However, what I do find myself doing is still seeing the literal interpretation in a humorous way. I am sure I can come up with examples - but my mind has gone blank.......

In a similar vein some one once asked me to bring some rock back from my summer holidays, so I did - I found them on the beach.

The other thing I find I do is twist newspaper headlines in an amusing to take the reported item to it's logical (and absurd) conclusion. As an example; a while ago the government banned UK parents from smoking in cars with children in the back. This straight away prompted a mental image of the parents in the front seats of the car (smoking away) and behind the car there was an old banger being towed which had the kids in, in the back seats. Thus obeying the letter of the law.

I fear however that I may take non-figurative speech more literally than I should and I think I get into "trouble" with that.

I do this a lot. My partner or my friend's partner are NT and my friend and I have autism (Aspergers before the dsm change). So they (NT) will quite often say something and my friend and I will go 'What? Really??' And have to have it explained. However both of us are quite capable of using sarcasm and figurative speech ourselves. It can be very confusing. Sometimes I get it - more well used phrases and sometimes it just goes over my head.

I and many folks on WP are fine with figurative speech, getting sarcasm, reading between the lines.

But many folks on WP (I have noticed over the years) are totally stymied by figurative speech. One high IQ person worked as engineer, and was often WP's self appointed "world's foremost authority" on everything, but his intellect didnt stop him from (figuratively speaking) slipping on conversational banana peels by taking things literally and embarrassing himself in situations where folks with less intellect had no problem.

I probably had trouble with figurative speech when I was a young grade school kid, but NT kids tend to take things literally too. I dont know if I was worse than normal or not. My parents arent around any more to ask.

When I hear figurative speech, I can't help but take it literally. I know it's not meant to be literal, but that's how I take it. For example, if someone says "Hit the road" I picture myself actually taking a big stick and hitting the road with it. Anyone remember those Amelia Bedelia books? There's one of her actually hitting a road. I wonder if she has Asperger's. Actually I never really liked Amelia Bedelia. I found her kind of annoying and dumb. Sorry to all you who liked those books. Just expressing my opinion.

Contrary to the usual stereotypes, I don't find that NT people can't understand my hints or symbolism or blunt objectivity.

High IQ, learned all about figures of speech in English class,
was an English major at the university ...
and that said,
I've discovered that certain people at work years ago
entertained themselves by setting me up for conversations
where I would take them literally
and try to find a logical way to interpret everything they said,
no matter how silly their premise was.
Once in awhile you could see them start to smile or laugh.
Finally, one or the other of them would get all frustrated
and say, "Hey, you weren't supposed to take that literally!"

I also had a boss tell me that she had to be careful when giving me instructions
because I took everything absolutely literally.

So while I can recognize figurative speech
when I have the leisure time to read it,
when people talk to me with a serious expression on their face ...
well, things can get adventurous!

And that said, I love a good pun war.

Maybe they are pretending not to understand
so as to advance their social agenda.

You sound high functioning, to me.

So, what I do is set deadlines and keep score.

I set an agenda, and I don't deceive myself, as to when I am doing that.

I don't deceive other people, about when I am doing that. I make my expectations crystal clear, if I can keep their attention, for long enough.

Also, I am easy going about spontaneous stuff. The neighbor lady was visibly upset that her autisitic kid would run up to people and ""scare" them. I patted him on the back. No agenda, when it comes to nice guy stuff.

I can set agendas, too.

I think that emotionality can get in the way. I think that people give themselves emotional excuse not to what is practical and convenient.

Well, that can be counted.

I can't budget everything, and everyone, but I can budget myself.

Last edited by friedmacguffins on 08 Apr 2017, 3:17 pm, edited 1 time in total.

So how did you handle so many people accusing you of thieving?

Well, they didn't accuse me of thieving,
but if they did,
I would tell them that I would make up for the time I had stolen by talking to them
if they would make up for the time they had stolen by talking to me.

...

You sound high-functioning too ...
only, in a different way
because I'm not certain I entirely understand this
keeping score of yours, and budgeting ...
I'm better at being unconventional and doing my own thing
regardless of how "normal people" might react ...
especially if they've shown they won't accept me
... my personality is eerily similar to the infamous Q of Star Trek.

Though like you, my heart can melt at the sight of innocent children ...

I use figurative speech very often, but always understand everything literally.

It's strange! How can it be?

i.e. In French when you want to pay the drink someone ordered, you say "it's for me" (vs "it's on me" in English)
I know it, I use it.
But tonight, I ordered tea, the waitress brought it, the guy at my table said "the tea, it's for me"
I replied "oh, sorry, and gave him the tea" thinking he had ordered it for him...

You did end up with some tea, I assume?

^yes, the waitress explained "Mister is going to pay for the tea"

I took it back...