Literalism

Hello everyone and welcome back to Deeper Waters where we are diving into the ocean of truth. We’ve been looking lately at Autism Awareness Month. First off, some thanks to a group that gave me a few minutes last night to speak on the topic of Asperger’s from an insider’s perspective. Now, I’d like to look at the topic of literalism.

Last night I came home and was checking Facebook as an example and saw someone say they had something for Thanksgiving already in the oven and when it was due. Now this is not to fault that person of course and congratulations, but I was looking at that for awhile and thinking “Why would someone be putting on something for Thanksgiving at this point?” It took a little bit before I realized that this was a figure of speech.

This is a problem that we often have on the spectrum. We do tend to take things very literally and can wonder why some people say some things because while they’re using a figure of speech of some sort, we’re taking them literally and wondering what they mean. This can also be a problem when someone is joking.

Of course, I realize how this is odd since I am indeed a very sarcastic person and I have to admit that I have a hard time telling if someone is being sarcastic or not. There are even times when my own wife has to ask me if I’m being sarcastic and I have to ask her if she’s just joking about something or not. We just don’t always see the connection.

What this means is that when someone is communicating with an Aspie, they need to be sure to watch their language. Consider also in Christian circles what kind of terminology we can use. What do you think it would mean for instance if you met someone who did think in this way (not saying all Aspies always fail to recognize figures of speech, but just consider if they do) and you ask them “Are you washed in the blood?”

In fact, if you are dealing with someone who is analytical, this is an area where apologetics will come in handy especially. Rather than ask a question of that sort, you can go and explain the concept of forgiveness to them from a logical perspective. Note that realizing that God does forgive us can be emotionally hard to understand in many ways, it is not illogical in the sense that it involves a contradiction. Nothing that God does involves a contradiction.

If you’re in communication with someone on the spectrum and you find that they’re having a hard time responding to what you’re saying, you might want to consider what you just said. Did you use some terminology that they could be taking literally and thus they’re confused? If so, then you’ll need to find a way to rephrase things in a way that they can understand them. Doing such will not only help them, but will help you think of your own ideas. (Picture it as if you had to explain Christianity to someone who had no concept of it)

Again, the soul is worth it.