Thread by @AutSciPerson

Here's a short thread on ambiguous instructions, and the energy autistic people have to spend to figure out what someone or something is really saying.

I'm currently cooking dinner, this dinner -

I want to focus on step 1.

#ActuallyAutistic
1/6

Step one says "Heat large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat until hot, about 2 minutes. Add meal to skillet."

However, the picture is only of someone pouring a box of food into the skillet itself.

I spent an actual 1 minute staring at that picture being confused.

2/6

You see, if I were to write those instructions, heating up the skillet until hot "about 2 minutes" would have been its own step. Because there's no picture of it here. All that is shown is pouring food into the box.

3/6

I would have had an empty skillet with a burner on as the first step, and then a separate step for adding the meal to the skillet. Even putting the "Add meal to skillet" as part of the 2nd step where you cover it would've been less confusing.

4/6

These little tiny double checks, making sure we don't have to "read between the lines" or making sure what we are doing is what other people are asking for is hugely taxing over time, with all of these "little" interactions every day, even just every week.

5/6

When we ask people to be explicit we mean make absolutely no assumptions that we will "read between the lines" or that you can skip steps or leave things out because we should "just know that" or it's "just common sense." It's often not, and it's exhausting.

6/6

*pouring food into the skillet

Me trying to finish my burnt food: