The Process of Communication

I am sorry for my absence. I have been taking a college course in Communication and it is a lot of writing for me. It is a lot of learning too, about the neurotypical communication system. It is a process foreign to me. Why do you not teach it to us as a class like this?

Did you know eye contact has a word meaning all its own? It says I am listening in nonverbal language. It also cues the speaker that I want a turn to speak when increased in intensity and time. Why don't you tell us this directly? Then we can in tell you directly why it does not work for us as a process. That would be true communication.

My process is entirely different. I don't hear a word as a word. I see a word as a picture then translate the meaning to a word. To say it is raining cats and dogs ellicits that picture in literal fashion, which then gets translated down to downpour. I hear tone and volume and pitch, but I can not process it simultaneous with sight. I can alternate, but it takes great energy to do it. What you do simultaneously, I take in as a turn taking process. I am learning some accommodations though. If I am preprepared with my own agenda or fact background I can do a critical analysis of what is being said to me. It takes out a step that takes attention from the speaker. It makes it unnecessary for me to formulate the thought that is me. To focus on me is to ignore you. The critical analysis provides both in relationship but as one step.

It may explain the success of the social story this prestep set up. It may be useful in structuring meaningful interactive conversation, autistic to neurotypical as well.