Visual thinking and ASD
It has been said before that people with an ASD disorder often are visual thinkers. At this page visual thinking and what it means to be a visual thinker is explained. There is more to it then you think.
Visual Thinking shows itself in different ways. Most people with an ASD disorder will see what is told to them as a little movie in their mind. A very good example is the "rabbit." Someone told someone with an ASD disorder to, like a rabbit, fill in an form. In Holland "als een haasje" (like a rabbit) is a normal expression. This person saw, in his thoughts, a rabbit who was filling in a form. The result was that the boy had to laugh.
The example of the rabbit clearly shows that visual thinking can cause funny situations. "Go together through a door" is another Dutch saying. It means that two people like each other. When someone who is a visual thinker hears this he or she might see a picture of two people, trying to get through a door at the same time. With the clasical "Looney Toons" scenes that go with that. But you can understand that it's not allways funny. Bellow you can read 2 situations in wich visual thinking is more a curse then a blessing.
Usually a job interview is serious bussiness. There is room for a joke, but the danger is that someone with an ASD disorder will keep making jokes. Not really helpfull. It is even worse when the person you have the interview with doesn't like that kind of humour. What if the person with the ASD disorder keeps on, for the other person, being a smart ass. Not really helpful in getting the job.
Most children hate homework. Quite logical. Who wants to be inside with a Maths book under their nose, learling stupid formulas, when you can be outside playing with your friends? You'd rather play soccer on the field then be inside studying. So, study quickly and remember the formulas in as short a time as possible. Maybe that is easy for you, but for a visual thinker that's quite difficult. A visual thinker must see in his mind what he reads. The text must "live." He must se the characters live in his mind.
You can't see mathematical formulas like a film in your head. They can't play their story out in your mind. You just need to get them, be able to use them. The picture a visual thinker needs will not be created.
You can't see mathematical formulas like a film in your head. They can't play their story out in your mind. You just need to get them, be able to use them. The picture a visual thinker needs will not be created.
Enough situations. Visual thinking will probably be clear now. It probably allready starts to life in your mind. But there still are some things you need to know. Making a picture takes a lot of energy. To quicker the picture needs be be made, the more tirering it is. Reading a book works relaxing for most people. A visual thinker will get tired from it. That happens because they proccess information different then other people.
Visual thinking can come in handy in a lot of different jobs. For example in art. It can be very handy to have the painting or statue allready done in you head, even before the first stroke of paint is on the canvas of the first bit of clay is on the table. I have the same during my studdy for Application Developer. I quickly have a picture in my mind of what the customer wants. I see how the customer wants to use the software and are able to set that up into the wishes of the customer.
There you have it. Visual thinking has its pro's and con's, like everything in life. I hope that this page has given you a better understanding of what visual thinking is.
