Welcome back to Reading the Research, where I trawl the Internet to find noteworthy research on autism and related subjects, then discuss it in brief with bits from my own life, research, and observations.
Today's article had a surprisingly positive take on autistic electronic communication, which I thought was interesting.
I've never given a whole lot of thought to my emails, but the trends described here about autistic email styles seem to hold about true for me. In my emails, as in my life, I tend to get directly to the point.
Social niceties are fine, but I typically only ask about such things if A) I remember, B) there's a good reason to ask (such as something being amiss previously), and C) I care. C is true more often than not, but email communication is often with people I don't know well enough about to have anything to actually ask about (B).
I've also noticed the preference for precision in writing. When I write emails, I try to include all pertinent information so I can be sure I'll be understood. Perhaps this extra care has something to do with how frequently autistic people are misunderstood? Because then neurotypical folks wouldn't be as inclined to be careful.
I received an email recently asking me to complete a task for someone, but they didn't actually give me all the information I needed to do the task, so it sat for a bit before I finally just gave it my best shot and asked for further information. The situation turned out okay (and honestly, didn't matter that much), but it was one of those communications that could have been handled in seconds and then forgotten entirely if communication styles had matched.
I gotta say, I personally prefer the "autistic email communication style" as laid out here. If I have to get email, I'd rather it contain all needed details, be polite, and get right to the point. I guess most neurotypical people prefer the emphasis on niceties?
(Pst! If you like seeing the latest autism-relevant research, visit my Twitter, which has links and brief comments on studies that were interesting, but didn't get a whole Reading the Research article about them.)
Today's article had a surprisingly positive take on autistic electronic communication, which I thought was interesting.
I've never given a whole lot of thought to my emails, but the trends described here about autistic email styles seem to hold about true for me. In my emails, as in my life, I tend to get directly to the point.
Social niceties are fine, but I typically only ask about such things if A) I remember, B) there's a good reason to ask (such as something being amiss previously), and C) I care. C is true more often than not, but email communication is often with people I don't know well enough about to have anything to actually ask about (B).
I've also noticed the preference for precision in writing. When I write emails, I try to include all pertinent information so I can be sure I'll be understood. Perhaps this extra care has something to do with how frequently autistic people are misunderstood? Because then neurotypical folks wouldn't be as inclined to be careful.
I received an email recently asking me to complete a task for someone, but they didn't actually give me all the information I needed to do the task, so it sat for a bit before I finally just gave it my best shot and asked for further information. The situation turned out okay (and honestly, didn't matter that much), but it was one of those communications that could have been handled in seconds and then forgotten entirely if communication styles had matched.
I gotta say, I personally prefer the "autistic email communication style" as laid out here. If I have to get email, I'd rather it contain all needed details, be polite, and get right to the point. I guess most neurotypical people prefer the emphasis on niceties?
(Pst! If you like seeing the latest autism-relevant research, visit my Twitter, which has links and brief comments on studies that were interesting, but didn't get a whole Reading the Research article about them.)
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