@whileyouwonder: How did you go? 👀 Any good ones that I missed? Autistic people often process language in a literal way whether obviously or internally, and several studies have shown this (Kalandadze et al., 2018). One study in 2010 highlighted this clearly. Autistic participants were more likely to visualise the literal scene in an idiom, and it took longer for the intended meaning to settle. So “kick the bucket” triggered an actual mental picture of someone kicking a bucket before the figurative interpretation came through (Rundblad & Annaz, 2010). Research also shows that many autistic people lean toward more categorical, black and white interpretations in ambiguous situations, which fits with this style of language processing (Moriguchi et al., 2023). 🧠 As always, what I share is based on my experience as an autistic autism assessor and speech pathologist, the lived experiences of the autistic community, and what I’ve seen across 8 years of autism assessments. These insights reflect common themes I’ve observed in 'clinical' settings, assessment conversations, and client storytelling. It may not apply to everyone, and research is still catching up on a lot of this! While this content is not intended as clinical advice, it draws on my lived and professional experience to make space for shared understanding and further discussion. I’d love to see more research in this space, and I’m always open to chatting with or supporting researchers – especially autistic researchers – who feel called to explore and build on these insights. There’s so much more to discover together!

Dasha🌻AutisticAutismAssessor

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Saturday 22 November 2025 02:24:56 GMT