Some people with autism notice things more quickly than the general population.

[Mia]

It's been discovered through research that people with high-functioning autism have better visual sharpness than others in the population. I've noticed that to be true for myself in that I'm much better at visual tasks and I'm faster in processing the information that most.


Researchers have determined that people with autism concentrate more brain resources in the areas associated with visual detection and identification, and conversely, have less activity in the areas used to plan and control thoughts and actions. This might explain their outstanding capacities in visual tasks. Autism: Exceptional visual abilities explained


Psychologists at the University of Cambridge’s Autism Research Centre found that compared with ordinary controls, high-functioning adults with autism score twice as high on standard tests of visual acuity ― the ability to resolve fine detail in an image2. “When a person with autism walks into a room, the first thing they see is a stain on the coffee table and 17 floor boards,” says Elizabeth Milne, a lecturer in cognitive neuroscience at the University of Sheffield who led the first study. Autism often accompanied by 'super vision', studies find | Spectrum | Autism Research News

Do you think that your visual sharpness, if you notice it, is better than most?

Autistic Children Show a Surprising Relationship between Global Visual Perception, Non-Verbal Intelligence and Visual Parvocellular Function, Not Seen in Typically Developing Children

 

[Ylva]

So true. If I try to stop looking at the world, my brain just starts producing vivid hallucinations to look at instead. Never associated it with autism before.

 

[cnn]

Thinking in images!!!

associative thinking, visual thinking, sensory filtering etc... I compare these as blind people hearing or smelling better than average.

There are some cases for example where autistic people are hired by department of defense to scan satellite images!!!

It is important to focus on our strengths rather than shortcomings. Not all autistics are good with images though. It could be music or verbal processing or anything at all, so we can't generalize.

 

[SDRSpark]

Yep. I don't think it's my eyes that are better, but my brain that's different for sure.

It makes me absolutely stellar at work where a big part of my job involves quality control.

It also makes me have the unfortunate habit of noticing and pointing out flaws...and I don't even mean to be offensive. I'd walk into the Sistine Chapel and say "he missed a spot!"

 

[tkcartoonist]

I have noticed that myself. Sometimes I can spot something that a person I'm with (friend, relative, whoever) won't notice until after I point it out.

 

[Progster]

Yes, I do seem to often notice things that other people don't. I was always the one to find unusual stones and other things on the beach, for example.

 

[Judge]

A boss once lost one of her contact lenses on a white tile bathroom floor at the office. I told everyone to not move, and knelt down looking for the contact lense and found in a few minutes. Didn't think of it as unusual at the time, yet finding a tiny clear lense on a shiny floor is not all that easy to do.

Good example of a simple situation where we may be willing to "go that extra mile" where most everyone else would just stand there and shrug their shoulders.

Where both our patience and perseverance pays off. Something that prospective employers may start taking notice of.

 

[Gift2humanity]

So true. If I try to stop looking at the world, my brain just starts producing vivid hallucinations to look at instead. Never associated it with autism before.

It would perhaps be nice to make art out of those hallucinations.