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Why do autistic people go off on a tangent?

marc_101 said:
Sure, the word always is not in the title, but the question was: "Why do autistic people go off on a tangent?," which logically implies that all autistic people go off on a tangent, so that's how I read it.
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We will have to agree to disagree. ;)
 
jsilver256 said:
For me it's low theory of mind, I think. I cannot gauge when someone else is interested or being polite. I have to police myself in real life interactions, and run through a script of questions to try and get them talking instead of me, but on rare occassion I'll go off on a tangent. It is not so dissimilar to when someone (NT or ND) starts journaling and the writing can go anyplace. The lack of natural back-and-forth reciprocity creates a similar effect when I get "going."
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I had that with a housemate. I thought she was interested in me talking about poker. I had a phase of being really into it. Turns out she told all the other housemates how boring I was!
 
jsilver256 said:
I have to police myself in real life interactions, and run through a script of questions to try and get them talking instead of me, but on rare occassion I'll go off on a tangent.
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I have ADD.
In a real-time situation, I find it virtually impossible to go through a checklist.
Adding to this problem, I have SPD which makes my interactions extremely slow.

"You are a better 'man' than I." :cool:
 
thejuice said:
I had that with a housemate. I thought she was interested in me talking about poker. I had a phase of being really into it. Turns out she told all the other housemates how boring I was!
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Many on the spectrum are disarmingly forthright with their honesty.
Many/most NTs are not.
This is one of the main problems with social discourse between the two "species", imo.
 
Jonn said:
Many on the spectrum are disarmingly forthright with their honesty.
Many/most NTs are not.
This is one of the main problems with social discourse between the two "species", imo.
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I accidentally walked in on her doing it on the sofa in the living room. Gross 🤢🤮🤮🤮
 
I go off on tangents because I don't know the point I'm trying to get across 50% off the time, and it is just a by-product of my mouth opening.

It's always relevant I promise
 
Jonn said:
Copilot:

Autistic people often find themselves going off on tangents during conversations, which can sometimes appear confusing or unrelated to non-autistic individuals. Let’s explore some reasons behind this behavior:


  1. Logical Train of Thought: To autistic individuals, their train of thought may seem normal and logical. They move from one idea to the next in a way that makes sense to them. However, to non-autistic people, it might appear as if they are jumping around from subject to subject without a clear connection.
  2. Avoiding Repetition: Autistic people might avoid repetitive discussions that non-autistic individuals tend to engage in. When neurotypicals talk something to death and go over the same topic repeatedly, it can be frustrating for someone with autism. Going off on tangents allows them to explore new ideas and avoid the monotony.
  3. Masking and Filling Silence: When masking (imitating social behaviors), autistic individuals instinctively know that they should keep conversations going. If there’s a gap or an awkward silence, they might start talking about random topics to maintain the flow.
  4. Boredom and Frustration: Autistic people may pivot to different topics due to boredom or frustration. If a conversation lacks stimulation or holds no interest, they might naturally shift away from the current subject. Additionally, they might get impatient with unnecessary exposition or ignorance in discussions.
  5. Unique Communication Styles: Autistic traits vary widely, and there’s no single “typical” autistic person. However, their communication styles often differ from neurotypicals. Some may be highly passionate about specific subjects and engage deeply when discussing them, while others struggle with mundane or repetitive conversations.

I was actually looking for a different answer.
I will do more research sometime. :cool:
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Funny. About 1-2: My observation is that other people (assumed NT) do those things but I don't (thought I am still uncertain if I am even in a spectrum). It is the other people who seem to derail constantly and immediately from a subject, while I try to keep talking about it until it has been properly concluded. I have even had to create myself "a 3 post limit" ("post" because I dislike face-to-face-communication about anything important or complex because of numerous flaws of a such communication channel), which means that if I have to ask or explain same things three times, it is time to give up and change the subject - otherwise other party (assumed NT) goes to radio silence and I strengthen my reputation of being annoying.
 
I go off on tangents very often, and another thing is that I have to overexplain everything, when talking about something, I have to provide much more context to every little detail than anyone would ever want, but that's just how my mind works. 😅
 
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