Last Saturday, I had an odd experience while typing a message on my computer to someone.
Normally when I’m composing text, if a television is on in the house, I insist on headphones being used so I can focus on my writing. Being that there were two viewers listening to a DVD through the set (thereby eliminating the headphone use option), I had no way to block out the auditory input coming to my brain.
The result, from my not being able to tune out what was being said, was that I ended up typing what was coming from the tv instead of my thoughts I attempted to convey. What really caught my attention was that I was typing what I wasn’t consciously thinking; plus, I was doing it word-for-word without any mistakes.
Now that half of a week has passed, I no longer remember in depth what I was trying to compose¹ versus what came from the tv. However, I still do distinctly remember typing the word road when I intended to type the word soul.
Reflecting back to this weird textual split now has me wondering if such a thing is exclusively an Asperger trait. It does prove what I said in a post I wrote last year in April:
Aspergians don’t have the same kind of data input ‘filters’ that NTs do. NTs normally don’t get overwhelmed by what’s around them. There are many things which escape their perception. Tests prove this.² Because Aspies unconsciously absorb too much information at once, it’s necessary to maintain focus on one thought at a time. An audible analogy of this principle would be like listening to a radio. You can only enjoy it if you tune into one station at a time. Imagine if you had no control over all the stations coming in at once. If that happened, you’d have to ‘tune out’ all interfering channels which prevent your concentration on the one channel that’s holding your interest.
This same principle of ‘multi-channel’ interference goes on when an NT is trying to converse with an Asperger person. I know this because I consciously practice paying attention to what I’m doing while holding a thought-provoking conversation with another person. Every time I have to respond by creating a new thought (e.g., rephrasing a statement into a question so as not to ‘offend’ the other party — often times as a ‘what if?’), before I can ‘grab’ my ‘new’ thought, I HAVE TO break eye contact in order to concentrate. If I was forced to keep my eyes focused on a person while she is talking to me during an intense and/or deep conversation, then she will not benefit from what I have to offer because I will be too distracted by other thoughts . . . just like you’d be if you were forced to hear all stations channeling in at once into your mind.
Its no wonder I get highly annoyed whenever people don’t comprehend how important it is for me to not be distracted by anything while I’m doing something. That doesn’t just include external input.³ Most of the time, its my own mind that distracts me, especially if I’m doing something boring like housework.
Because I’m almost always in deep thought about something, I tend to be far more clumsy than most other people. I usually break more than my fair share of drinking glasses, stumble quite often, get hit by objects I’m not aware are about to fall, spill things, etc. — all because of not being able to shift out of my deep thought fast enough. Needless to say, being a waitress or hostess would be my worst nightmare!
I use the analogy of comparing neurotypicals to being like flat stones that can skip across the surface of water versus Aspies being like round rocks that sink immediately. NTs easily switch tracks when doing tasks. That gives them greater success at doing multiple-tasks, which don’t require intense concentration, when combined. However, Aspies like myself, automatically go into deep thought almost all the time. For me to switch tasks, like going from washing dishes to stopping something from burning on the stove, requires a lot of motivation and self-discipline. That’s why multi-tasking easily can exhaust my energy, especially in social settings like parties or barbecues.
On a side note, Aspies can be successful moms, especially if they are aware of the differences between how their minds work compared to NTs. Even though children do grow up fast, they don’t grow up too fast for an Aspie mom to make the necessary adjustments needed during each stage of a child’s development. Being a good mom isn’t an easy job no matter what neurological structure you’re born with, but don’t think that NTs moms exclusively have the assets child rearing requires. That’s especially true in the case of NTs raising an Aspie child. NTs are capable of making just as many mistakes (if not more!) raising an Aspie child as an Aspie mom could make raising a NT child.
Aspies, being a minority, have to put forth a greater effort at most things they do. Its not much unlike being a female in a work population comprised mostly of males. The demand to prove yourself equally capable is more intense.
Postscript — What’s said in the second footnote below may sound like a contradiction and be difficult to comprehend correctly after what I said about why I’m more clumsy than ‘normal’ human beings. That just goes to prove how complex and rapidly calculating the human mind can be. In the example Temple Grandin uses in her book to point out how normal human beings are blind to anything they’re not paying attention to, it would help if an added factor was included.
The things which I’m more likely to be blind to (like noticing a little step in front of me, while paying attention to preventing a ball from injuring a child) are not the same things that most NTs might not notice (like not noticing someone wearing a gorilla suit running quickly in and out of a basketball court or not noticing an identical word being used twice in a mind-trap puzzle). The reason for that is probably is due to the level that something is disturbing.
Since Aspies and NTs differ a lot in the way they process information, they also have vastly different priorities. That being the case, it’s only natural that Aspies will notice things that NTs don’t (like what details are being left out of certain situations or what ones don’t belong in them). On the flip side, NTs will notice things that Aspies don’t (like when it is time to shift to something else).
Wow!… I’m way behind my schedule I intended for today! I wonder why that is? 
¹I gave up and left my computer after seeing how impossible it was for me to accomplish what I thought shouldn’t be so impossible to do.
²Read the section Being Oblivious in Temple Grandin’s book, “Animals in Translation.” Along with other reference material suggested in that section, she states that “Normal human beings are blind to anything they’re not paying attention to.” Towards the end of that section, she also writes, “Being able to filter out distractions is a good thing; just ask anyone who can’t filter things out, like a person with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. It’s hard for humans to function intellectually when every little sensory detail in their environment keeps hijacking their attention. You go into information overload.”
³External input isn’t limited to auditory interference. Any sensory input can cause disruptions in thought. For example, perfumed smells can interfere with my thought processing easily. Things like high humidity, uncomfortable clothing, and florescent lighting, are a few others worth mentioning.
