Auditory information retaining during conversation.

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For some reason I can't retain the information others speak out to me and sometimes even if it's written instructions I have to reread it several times only to find out that I still can't retain it. I end up in awkward situations where I try to engage in conversations but don't remember a single thing of what is said. I do study at university so I don't think this is regarding intelligence.

Is this a typical ASD trait?

I have no idea really if this is a typical ASD trait, but I certainly have it. I have to write things down as people say them to me for me to concentrate on what they are saying, and even then I often have to read back what I wrote down several times. I frequently lose track of sentences and what people are saying, which can get very awkward in meetings.

Your brain is flooded with excess sensory information. This sensory information overwhelms the portion of your brain that is supposed to process this sensory information and make sense of it. Your brain makes up for this by using the linear portion of the brain to dissect this sensory information. Once you've had experience with doing things like reading social cues/facial expressions and finding the underlying meaning for them, your social capabilities improve greatly. However, the effort it takes for that portion of the brain to allow for you to dissect social cues works very hard, and as a result is not able to assist you with filing bits of information into short term memory.

Ironically, if you were to ask the person to leave the room and text you on your phone, and if you were in a room that was relatively quiet, you'd receive the information via text and your memory would improve because you reduced the sensory information your brain recieves.

I really suck at retaining information during conversations, especially at times when my motivation is low. Sometimes, I even seem to go "deaf" during conversations, and don't seem to hear what the other person is saying.

If I receive directions from somebody, I have to write them down step by step. This is why GPS has been such a boon for me. I can either use the GPS in the car, or print out the directions from Mapquest or whatever.

I have always had this problem but I thought it was an ADHD symptom, as this was what I was told when I was getting diagnosed with ADHD.

I feel like it can be both an AS and an ADHD issue.

AS: because sensory information is coming in too quickly, so that it overwhelms you. This has some relationship to "executive function" difficulties.

Last edited by kraftiekortie on 23 Jan 2018, 11:23 am, edited 1 time in total.

That is an amazing explanation. I have always wondered about this too because it's such a hindrance to everyday life. And i try to explain it to other people but they just dont get it AT ALL!! They just think i chose not to listen to them

Yep...I've experienced things the way AspieDad has experienced things.

Ahaha I am exactly the same, getting directions takes me asking the other person to repeat the steps multiple times while I write them down. Even with them I get confused as to what I am, my geographical awareness is hysterical, I still have to check which is my left and right side.

I also go deaf in conversations, I feel so rude! I honestly don't mean to sometimes I am just staring at something else, or hearing someone else's conversation, or there is a background noise, or [10 billion reasons here].

I retain very little from conversations and even less from reading. I have to read something over and over to understand it. I’ve bern trying to learn Spanish from cds for 2 year, I’m having so much trouble with it.

May I ask - is that because you're thinking about something other than what the other person is saying or because your mind is just blank? Are you conscious of not being able to hear what the other person is saying, ie struggling vs switched off? Sorry to ask so many questions on someone else's thread. I've just been wondering about the differences between ADHD and ASD executive functioning and I'm curious about how it feels from an ASD perspective.

I have a lot of trouble retaining/receiving information during conversations - sometimes during group conversations because there are so many words coming from so many different directions that I can't process things fast enough. If there are multiple conversations going on then I'm lost, and I am conscious of that difficulty (ie trying to listen and struggling to process). But often in one on one conversations that's not the problem. Then the issue is that my mind keeps drifting off elsewhere and it's hard to concentrate and listen, my mind keeps finding little tangents and I suddenly realize I don't know what the other person has been saying. So my mind isn't on shutdown, it's just occupied and drifting. Maybe that's more similar to ADHD, I'm not sure.

This happens to me and it makes feel like an awful person especially when it's my GF talking to me.
It makes me feel very selfish when she's trying to talk to me and my mind just wanders to my PC screen and I try to multitask reading a thread ( or whatever ) and listen to her ( not possible ).
Getting a Dx hasn't changed how I feel about myself as I don't know what causes it.

This sounds like me ^

https://www.autism.com/understanding_au ... processing

In answer to Fruitloop:

It's because something else is on my mind, usually. This might be more of an example of ADHD than of AS.

Yes, I am almost totally unable to follow two conversations at once.....I have trouble, in general, "doing two things at once," too.

I'm not sure this is what happens to me , I think I understand the meaning of words but things just become overwhelming so my mind tries to drown them out or focus on something else.



I feel I have only a certain amount of time before inattentiveness kicks in , it sounds more like ADHD from what I've read but who knows