I’m autistic. One of the ways that manifests in me is that I interpret communication literally most of the time. I distinctly remember watching an episode of Big Bang Theory with my roommates (right at the beginning, when it was a funny show for nerds rather than a show that made fun of nerds), where the allistic friend make a sign for his autistic friend that says “sarcasm,” and he’d hold it up whenever sarcasm was occurring in the conversation. My roommates thought it such a good idea that they made a sarcasm sign for me, and we used it regularly over the next two years. It’s had an enduring positive effect on my ability to distinguish sarcasm in other situations.
Unfortunately, detecting sarcasm isn’t the only social communication challenge I face. When interpreting guidelines for assignments in my classes, I tend to interpret them literally as well. Professors don’t seem to be as understanding as my roommates were. Rather than clarifying when I have questions about the assignment instructions, they often seem to interpret my requests for clarity as insubordination, or a request to be exempted from the requirements, or as being sarcastic. This has lead to some tense interactions for me this semester. Despite letting all my professors know up front that I am autistic and have communication differences, they seem to forget after the first week, and treat my interactions as they would any of their allistic students.
One of the ways I try to combat this problem is by requesting feedback frequently. That way, if I misunderstand something, it can be corrected early and I don’t lose time. Sometimes professors see this as a sign of diligence, others see it as needy and demanding. I requested clarification and draft feedback on a research paper over the last few weeks, knowing it was due two days from when I’m writing this. Despite assurances that I was on the right track and that I had plenty of time, today I received feedback that the structure of my paper was not acceptable, and now I am left to completely rewrite the paper two days before the deadline. Because of the limited remaining time and the professor’s lack of availability, that means I will not have the opportunity to receive feedback on my new paper, which I will now stay up all night to complete.
Another way I try to deal with this problem is by forming peer support groups. While not authoritative, I can ask my peers how they have interpreted the requirements, or ask them questions about assignments to see how they’re choosing to approach them. This has been slow going for several reasons, including that my program of study is fully remote and my difficulty with navigating group settings and social interactions. I think this is an area where schools could improve support for all of their students, not just their neurodivergent ones. Create for example a discord server for the program or major, and have students join when they enroll. Channels can be created for individual classes or assignments, general chat can help new students connect with more seasoned peers for mentoring, and meme channels can blow of steam when studying for exams. This kind of resource would be especially helpful in online programs where social support can’t organically develop during non-class interactions.
I would like for assignment instructions to be clear and unambiguous, for faculty to answer questions about them without assuming ill intent on behalf of students, and for better peer support options. But while I’m waiting for those things, I should probably get back to working on this paper.