Does MD effect your communication?

[Silver Swan]

People quickly and easily notice that I don't always listen carefully to their words. I could be "here" with them, but I do have Autism. I tend to have trouble processing more complex information in my head fast enough that I don't make somebody mad. Others have called me things like "tunnel visioned," "deaf" and "a zoner." It's just, I fear that day dreaming does make this even worse. Nobody has been happy about the fact I didn't hear them perfectly clear the first time. They've even stared at me or spoke to me in tones that I don't want to remember. It does make me feel pretty bad.

[Nadia]

Hi there, I abosolutely understand where you are coming from with this one. In fact I’d go so far as to say that anyone with MD has encountered a situation where they’ve been snapped out of there vivid thinking/ dreaming by someone angrily saying “are you even listening to me?”, and then promptly walking off. This is the reason why this condition needs to be recognised, so that the general public a more understanding, as the effect that this has on us MD’ers constantly is damanging and hurtful as it makes us feel ashamed for something that is out of our control. My family and friends always get mad at me for “zoning out” and even though I get angry, I find the best way to deal with it currently is to just accept the fact that they cannot understand or comprehend the way that our minds work. People at work often compliment me because when someone talks to me I “sit up straight and look right at them” and I also take notes, not realising that’s it because it’s a pressured environment and I literally have to do that to cope. Therefore in a work or important situation, I would always adjust your body language to get set to focus on the person and if possible have post it notes or notebooks at hand.

I noticed that you mentioned the word “deaf” which I have had thrown at me millions of times in my life, and I am actually going to book a hearing test to determine whether I am actually hard or hearing or just incredibly selective (as well as some other factors). I don’t know if it would help, but maybe you could book in for one yourself to at least cancel out the possibility of having a hearing problem before you move on and try the other tips above?

Hope this helps x