What does it mean to think literally, and why is it common in
autism? Our everyday language is littered with idioms,
metaphors, euphemisms, puns, hyperbole, sarcasm, exaggeration
and implied assumptions - figurative phrases that can be
difficult for a literal mind to interpret. These
misunderstandings are often the cause of a lot of unnecessary
and painful frustration, hurt feelings and meltdowns. So why is
literal thinking common with autism, and how can you help
prevent these types of misunderstandings? Being a language
detective When a non-literal thinker hears figurative speech for
the first time, they consider the literal meaning of the words
and make a quick judgement about whether it matches the intended
meaning - by the context in which it was said, the way it was
said or by asking the speaker what they meant. The second layer
of meaning gets stored in memory to be recalled the next time
they hear the phrase, and eventually bypasses the literal
meaning of the words altogether. People who have difficul