Published on 12, July, 2020
Does anyone else suffer from my problems?
Where I mishear or misread something.
The latest incident is a BBC website article, where I initially read.
Call to exclude pupils with ASD.
It actually read.
Call to test excluded pupils for ADHD.
Very different!
I often watch DVDs with subtitles. And when I'm unsure of what was said or written I rewind and listen/read again. And the second time round it's different.
I always prefer to have subtitles on TV programmes, especially if there is background music. I find it hard to follow what's being said otherwise. I also mishear what people say all the time or even if I do hear the words, it takes me a few seconds to decode what those words mean. This means in conversations sometimes there's long pauses where I have to decode what someone has said, to then think up my answer, and then I have to actively think how to code my answer for the other person to understand. And by that I mean I don't really think in words. As this doesn't really work very well in practice (you can't have a 10 second delay in replying in a conversation) I've got very good at having a list of immediate responses I can churn out for most situations. So 95% of the time I can carry a conversation without the other person realising because most people are fairly predictable or I can guess what subjects certain people will ask me about. 5% of the time I completely mishear or misinterpret what is said and give a totally unrelated response. But I see the funny side of this.
I'd just like to add I don't hear song lyrics either, I only hear the music. I don't even know the words to some of my favourite songs no matter how many times I've listened to them.