Problem solving

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I read this: "1. The child on the autism spectrum often has difficulty organizing his thinking, planning and carrying out actions, and problem-solving. For example, he may struggle with breaking down an assignment into smaller pieces, or grasping the steps that need to be taken to complete a project"
https://www.myaspergerschild.com/2018/0 ... h.html?m=1

If people having problem solving issue how do they solve problems so easily in their special interest?
I have tried to understand this but I always get stuck and frustrated in my interests.
You also need a teacher in order to be good at an activity but then that is difficult due to it being a social thing.

What is it that some of you do that I fail to do?

Don't put too much faith in what so-called "experts" say.

If you are unable to achieve a specific objective and do not know why, you can ask someone who knows what to do or find a different objective.

Problem solving seems to be "something autistic people are supposed to be good at" in one article then the next article it's "something autistic people are supposed to struggle with", so I never know which it is. Maybe it's just down to the individual.

I am a good problem solver.

I guess it is about the hypo/hyper thing.
I even hear about how ASD can make people good at work that has a lot do with talking with customers.

What does it mean to be good at problem solving? Isn't problem solving about being very good at a specific subject?

I thought problem solving meant... solving a problem. I find building puzzles difficult because it requires more focus (I find focus difficult as I have ADHD) but if there's creativity then I can problem solve quite easily. For example when I'm changing the shelves and different things in my rat cage it looks impossible to rearrange it to make it safe and fun for the rats but I somehow come up with a solution in the end, every time. It just takes imagination and creativity, both qualities I have.

I guess they call us rigid. We are supposed to be bad at solving problems because it has a lot to do with not being rigid and getting stuck in one kind of thinking.

That thing about the rat cage means that you are very good at rat cages. It doesn't say if you are good at solving problems when cooking or dancing.

We need both non-rigid thinking and specific subject-related skills, I think.

Cognitive rigidity sucks, I tell you!
That's why I get stuck. It is mostly some specific detail that I focus on and my brain refuses to see the bigger picture.
I envy the asperger people who do activites for fun and never really get stuck because of some problems.
I have met many people with ASD diagnoses but all of them seem to have experienced getting stuck.
Some people just get stuck very little. They are the people who get somewhere in life or the people who refuse to see the problems and deal with them.

The only interest that wasn't that frustrating was dart. The social part of it was difficult at times but it was less frustrating than singing (although I am a better singer than dart player).

I'm good at problem solving in general, providing it requires imagination and creativity.

Autistic people focus and use certain parts of brain more so than other.
So they develop a skill, but they usually are slow to start, but through rigid focus and time they become more so effective than normal people.
Normal people have off switch.
Autistics don't pick their talents. They just find out what they are good at by chance and trial and error.
Once they do they get obsessive focus on that, because their mind just happens to focus only on that.
Normal people are good at juggling tasks and projects switching their focus.

I must be normal then. I don't seem to fit the autistic hyperfocus stereotype.

Many autistic people have problems with executive functioning which includes planning and organizing. Not all Autistics have this problem. It is not in the diagnostic criteria.

My guess would be if that solving the problem involved consistent factors autistics would be good at it. If what is needed to solve the problem involves constantly changing variables Autistics would have trouble.

So cognitive rigidity can be a positive thing? But how?

Do people with ASD use cognitive rigidity in order to solve problems?
Is that why so many can have a special interests without the frustrations?


I have been told that the stereotypes are mostly about boys and men.

If one does not have problems with executive functioning can one really recieve a diagnosis then?

Yes. One does not have to have all of the traits. One should have most of the traits and those traits should impair ones life.

IMHO enough Autistic people have executive dysfunction that it should be be a diagnostic criteria in the next manual.

It is actually already in the criteria already as I see it but I am no expert.
I think all people have difficulties with executive functioning in some way or another.

Autodidact = observing others problem solving and applying it to possible situations,that confront someone.(a Aspie)
And using masking mimicry skills . I register the info and copy it .But i do not actually think of it as problem solving.
It just becomes part of the information, i might absorb.
Sometimes , i come upon things that might be beyond my range of imagination. ( based on all previous experiences)
So inspite of all my wishes for things to be solved. It seems I am stuck in a learning pattern. Might not be able to resolve a issue until such time that , More information comes to me that might apply to a resolution. But I have to be able to process that info. So I can learn it . ( maybe apply it). By No means do I get all these things all together at one time always.

I thought executive dysfunction was an ADHD symptom.

But then again autism steals all the symptoms of every neurological disorder so maybe it explains why executive dysfunction is an autism symptom too.