Social Cues

Hey guys, I feel like venting.

One of the many negative stereotypes that people with Autism face is that they lack Social Cues that other people receive on a silver platter. People with Autism often have to learn these skills....the hard way.

My friend Nick Bonacci and I shared our bad experiences about lacking Social Cues in the past at one of our lectures.

This past year, I have learned that even people who don't have Autism lack Social Cues.

One example, it's 2:00 in the morning. I am trying to sleep but all I hear is loud laughter from another room in my Residence Halls. A bunch of people were in there, and I couldn't sleep because of the loud laughter from the group. Keep in mind, this is 2:00 in the morning...ON A SCHOOL NIGHT. Why are people hanging out in other peoples' rooms so late the night before class anyway?

One time I was in the bathroom of my cluster in Tower Hall, brushing my teeth, and getting ready to go to bed. A female opened the door without knocking (she was a guest of a friend)and walked in on me. If a bathroom door is closed, chances are that someone is using it. If you're not sure, then knock. Don't just open the door blindly. Bathroom doors are always left open when it's empty. (Our door doesn't lock.) What if that girl would have walked in on me while I was in the shower or using the bathroom?

Another example, was during class. It was our Argumentation class and there was a debate going on between two students. While one of the debaters was trying to organize and concentrate on the information he was gathering, the other debater kept talking to the audience members and joking around really loudly. Not only was that unprofessional but it was rude because the other debater must have had trouble concentrating during his prep time due to the loud noises occurring from the opponent.

A third example involves Hamster Tube Racing. At a Campus outdoor event, I was waiting in line to race in a Hamster Tube. The person who was racing a few people in front of me got intentionally knocked over by my friend who was on the side of the track. My friend didn't even know this person. My friend was just kidding around but you can't do that to someone you don't know. It would be amusing if that was someone you know you did it to but not to a stranger. If I was knocked over while running in a hamster tube by a friend, I would laugh. If it was by a stranger that did that to me, I would run off the track and chase him while I was still in my hamster ball around the quad.....just kidding about the last comment but you get the point.

The last example is noise in the Library. I was planning on studying for a Final I had in less than an hour. I went up to the second floor of the library which is suppose to be the quiet floor. Only, it wasn't quiet. There were these group of individuals who were being loud and obnoxious. They were talking and laughing really loudly. The people studying around them were staring at them like they had three heads on each body.

The Second Floor of the Library sounded like the Cafeteria during peek dinner hours. I had to leave the library and move to a more quiet place to study. Tomorrow, I'm studying all day in my secret study place. Seriously though, people should be quiet in the library, especially during FINAL EXAM WEEK. It's never a good idea to study with a group unless you are studying the same subject because you'll end up talking to each other and losing your concentration.

People with Autism may have trouble picking up on Social Cues, but we aren't the only ones who do. This is a skill that many people have trouble developing. People with Autism aren't as inferior or different as people think we are or in other words, "regular functioning" people aren't that different from people with Autism.