I feel like this meme being originally from an autism community, posted outside of it without that context, has lead to some egregiously bad takes in the comments. Unfortunately ironic. People coming in here having no idea what the autistic experience of people giving vague instructions and then just assuming you will figure stuff out is like. And then the reverse; trying your best to explain a process in hopes that there will be no ambiguity, only to be accused of being condescending.
And of course we have a plethora of “well in this edge case, its actually necessary to not question instructions!” takes, as if we are talking about last minute bomb defusals, instead of everyday office procedure or insensitive social situations. People on the spectrum are a great showcase of how unwilling the average person is to question the status quo.
As someone neurodivergent but not autistic I definitely see both perspectives here.
Sometimes the rules are stupid or unclear and the autistic person who’s willing to ask the questions changes it from “everyone is winging it in accordance with their own interpretation without understanding why” to bringing everyone onto the same page.
But on the other hand, I and most non autistic people, can instinctively interpret the questioning of the rules as disrespect for the clear reason for them or as a polite way of calling the rule bullshit. I’ve had enough experience with autistic folks to ask for clarity and try to explain, but most neurotypicals don’t (doesn’t make it ok). This is something neurotypicals need to be taught to be sympathetic towards. It will make them better not just at interacting with autistic people but with being coherent towards each other and preventing the situation where everyone just assumes their way to incoherence.
Also sometimes it’s a situation of “can you please just accept the rules so we can get to what we’re here to do?”, which is a situation where I’m sympathetic to both sides.
Nah. Those people are just always the problem. They are how the world got like this. Modern (and historic) articulations of tyranny that last more than five minutes would not be possible without them.
I feel like this meme being originally from an autism community, posted outside of it without that context, has lead to some egregiously bad takes in the comments. Unfortunately ironic. People coming in here having no idea what the autistic experience of people giving vague instructions and then just assuming you will figure stuff out is like. And then the reverse; trying your best to explain a process in hopes that there will be no ambiguity, only to be accused of being condescending.
And of course we have a plethora of “well in this edge case, its actually necessary to not question instructions!” takes, as if we are talking about last minute bomb defusals, instead of everyday office procedure or insensitive social situations. People on the spectrum are a great showcase of how unwilling the average person is to question the status quo.
As someone neurodivergent but not autistic I definitely see both perspectives here.
Sometimes the rules are stupid or unclear and the autistic person who’s willing to ask the questions changes it from “everyone is winging it in accordance with their own interpretation without understanding why” to bringing everyone onto the same page.
But on the other hand, I and most non autistic people, can instinctively interpret the questioning of the rules as disrespect for the clear reason for them or as a polite way of calling the rule bullshit. I’ve had enough experience with autistic folks to ask for clarity and try to explain, but most neurotypicals don’t (doesn’t make it ok). This is something neurotypicals need to be taught to be sympathetic towards. It will make them better not just at interacting with autistic people but with being coherent towards each other and preventing the situation where everyone just assumes their way to incoherence.
Also sometimes it’s a situation of “can you please just accept the rules so we can get to what we’re here to do?”, which is a situation where I’m sympathetic to both sides.
Exactly. This thread is a good reverse example for those wanting to learn to be more sensitive. There hasn’t been much sensitivity displayed here.
Nah. Those people are just always the problem. They are how the world got like this. Modern (and historic) articulations of tyranny that last more than five minutes would not be possible without them.