The Technique That Helps Me With Processing as an Autistic Person

The autistic mind is an interesting thing. We tend to have many talents as well as many difficulties. One of the struggles I have faced being on the spectrum is processing. More specifically, processing what is being told to me.

There have been many times when I have been given many tasks to do at once. I have trouble fully understanding them if they happen all at once, especially in the workplace. If I’m told to do several tasks at once, my anxiety can go off the rails. I get so worried about screwing up and I wanted to do well at my job. Even when I was trying to write down notes, it was hard for me to process.

However, one method that has helped me through this is a type of remembrance technique called word finding. In this method, when I am given a number of tasks at once, I focus on words in the spoken tasks that seem most important and use them to guide me through the tasks. For instance, if I was asked to both write a report on a meeting that day and then contact another manager, I would focus on the words “report,” “meeting,” “contact” and “manager.”

By doing this for the past few years, I have been able to complete my tasks with no issues. If you find processing to be hard because of autism, I hope you find this to be helpful in life.