As many of you probably know, communication is not one of the strong characteristics of an autistic person. Even though I have Asperger syndrome, am high-functioning, and seem pretty "normal" most of the time, I still struggle with aspects of conversation that typical people come by naturally. One example is the give and take of conversations. This may be in the form of greetings, talking about how the day went, getting to know each other, etc. Recently, I had the realization that I'm horrible at the taking part of conversation. I was used to people asking questions about me and answering them. I was used to people saying hi to me or asking me how I was. However, I didn't realize that it works both ways. I'm not saying I'm terrible at all parts of this concept all the time, but my skills are definitely lacking.
Recently, I have tried to become more conscious about my conversations. When people ask me how I am, I remind myself to do the same. When having a conversation, I remind myself to ask the person questions about them. Keep in mind that before, it's not that I wasn't interested in other people; I was. It's just that the rules of conversation don't come naturally to people with autism. We don't do it on purpose. We actually have to consciously think about the conversation and how to do it "right". Maybe that's why we can get so overwhelmed sometimes Lol. What you typical people take for granted, we have to work at. This is one reason it's important to support and be understanding. Hopefully, with some more work, I can be even better at this :)
"I live in the same world you do; I just experience it differently. I am a human being with feelings, just like you; I just express them in my own way." ~Me~
