Taking things literally

The literature often talks about Aspergers people taking things literally.

The most common example of this being a person who is told to "pull their socks up" actually bending down to do so.

Now, before I go into the whys and wherefores, I'd just like to ask my "normal readers" to stop and think about this line for a minute. What exactly is it telling you to do? What would someone with less familiarity with the English language think?

I certainly choose my words very carefully to increase my chances of being understood.

Fast Learning
Aspergers people dont and cant really learn not to take things so literally, we do it by assuming that everyone is "kidding". Certainly it's true to say that everything has more than one meaning to an aspergers person and that they tend to quickly evaluate the various options in mid-conversation before choosing the most appropriate answer.

This can also lead to minor delays in conversation, depending upon how fast they evaluate things.

I guess this means that while a normal person probably always takes expressions like "pull your socks up" or "pull your finger out" to mean improve, and hurry up respectively, an aspergers person will always choose from four different definitions.

Literal Jokes
I'm trying not to get into the "not getting jokes bit" - I'll save that for another post, but I do want to cover how Aspergers people use their take on language for joke purposes.

Exhibit A
Last night, we had strawberries and cream for dessert. When I was cleaning up after the meal, my Mum pointed to the strawberries saying that since they are greens they should go in the green bin. "oh.. but they're red", I said, with a wry grin. My Mum proceeded to give me a reason why they are considered green, then realized that I was joking. I talked to her later and she said that a non-aspergers person wouldn't even consider the colour.

Final Thoughts on Taking Things Literally
Aspergers people cant really learn to not take things literally, and we cant let go of one meaning - we need to store both. This isn't a bad thing but it can cause delays in conversations and may also impact their ability to be understood.

How can you help?
Talk in short clear sentences, be ready for questions and such.