Distinguishing between 'simple' words

[Mumble]

I've just finished reading a really uplifting, positive account of a female diagnosed with AS as an adult - Songs of the Gorilla Nation - Dawn Prince-Hughes. I could identify with so much of her account, it became at times quite difficult to read, but I found her use of her AS to help her achieve what she had/wanted and to continue this almost inspirational (without it being put forward in an AS is a gift, blah de blah type way ).

 

However, there were several things she talked about doing in the book (either now or as a child) that I thought, 'well I do/struggle with that' but had never made a link with ASD (which I think can sometimes be a dangerous thing to do, particularly if the area/issue could/should be addressed).

 

One of these has really intrigued me and I'd be interested to know: a)if this is (as in there is research suggesting a link and reasons) linked to ASD, b)if others experience this themselves or with their children and c)if it can be addressed?

 

Ever since I began talking, I have had a problem discerning between certain similar sounding words both in terms of hearing (if people use the words out of context I can't tell which they have used) and speech (I can't make a group of words sound different, so can't, out of context, make it clear what I am saying). I have no problems writing/reading the words, so it is not to do with understanding but in the actual hearing and production of the sounds.

 

Examples include:

Pool - Pull - Paul (these all sound identical to me)

Wall - Wool (I know this is a similar sound group to the above; I'm struggling to think of examples, but there are others)

 

I was bullied because of this (there are many more examples and it can be obvious in terms of my speech) all the way through school and my u/grad degree, but as I got older, especially at uni, put it down to moving around, not being from where others were from, regional accents, etc.

 

I also can't distinguish between accents, even when these are really obvious - for instance I asked my neighbour where she was from, but apparently she has a really strong Northern Irish accent, but I can't 'hear' this.

 

Any thoughts/experiences?

 

[justine1]

Hi

Yes my son does this and the paed said this is part of AS.He gets lamb and lamp mixed up even though like you say he knows the spelling difference.He aslo associates words with other words,like with doll he says plastic,again he did this with his assesment.It is great you mentioned it

[Mumble]

He gets lamb and lamp mixed up even though like you say he knows the spelling difference.

Ooh yes - words ending in 'b' or 'p' with the rest spelt the same are a common one I cannot distinguish.

[Jingo]

I have trouble understanding anyone who isn't speaking as i consider clearly, either due to strong accent, 2nd language, children, learning difficaulties etc. I also have issues with understanding speach with background noises. My hearing has been tested and there's no specific issues, so it appears to be processing rather than hearing, but i have no idea if it's ASD related.

[Tally]

I don't share your difficulty distinguishing similar-sounding words other than a general difficulty with auditory processing which can apply even to different-soudning words. My own speech can be unclear, but again, I think this is more general and not just with similar-sounding words.

 

I do have some difficulty adapting to regional accents. I had a lot of difficulty when I first moved to Devon, and have also had some difficulty now that I have moved back to the place I used to live. I even had trouble when my first boss had a London accent (this was in Surrey, so it wasn't even much different from my own or that of my parents). I've put this down to a general auditory processing issue though, so I don't know whether it's quite what you're getting at either.

 

I do find my accent changes when I am away from home. WHen I was 5 I mived from London to Birmingham. Rather than taking on the local accent, I developed an even stronger London accent. My parents are both well spoken Eastenders, so I didn't get it from them! Aged 10 I moved to Surrey, and then moved to Devon when I was 21, where I developed more of a posh BBC/RP accent - my parents' accents are not quite like this either, and I was living with my ex who was from Preston, so I have no idea where it came from!

 

The Northern Irish accent in particular is a difficult one that many people confuse for a Scottish accent. Maybe you just made the same common mistake with your neighbour that many others would have. And it does vary because Northern Ireland covers a wide area, so your neighbour's accent could have been very different to another Northern Irish accent you might have heard.

[NobbyNobbs]

i really struggle with accents too. when someone speaks to me with a different accent it is like they are speaking in a foreign language and i really cannot understand a word they say. eventually i can work it out but obviously its a big issue on the telephone because they dont know why i am either not replying or saying '...what?!' this even comes down to 'hello is mrs/mrs X there?'. a nightmare with student loans and banks because they are all based in scotland.

 

as to confusing words i dont think i do that as such. i just have to spend a longer time than average working out what someone has said in general. and if i wasn't paying complete attention to what they were saying it has to be repeated because i'll have missed parts of the sentence while working out the other bits!

[pearl]

Sorry I don't know anything about the word thing but just wanted to say that the book is one of my absolute favourite autie biogs. I loved it

[Meethoss]

When I first read this I thought "nooo, I don't do that at all"...but that's with reading - when I read those words they are completely different words to me. However when people speak I sometimes have the problem of mistaking words they say for something else and often repeat what they say but insert different words and usually get a chuckle from those around me. I can't think of any examples really, but I do have trouble with strong accents and I really struggle on the phone.

 

I even had my hearing tested and it's perfect. I especially struggle when there's any sort of background noise or more than one person talking. For years I thought I had a hearing problem but it's only when I came across the AS I realised what the problem was - it's how my brain processes these things! If I really, really concentrate then I can usually get by but sometimes there is just too much going on and all I hear is noise and nothing else.