Neurodivergence is out there. When I say we are everywhere, I am relying on a fascinating yet important skill that is common with autism: pattern recognition. Since early childhood, I have been drawn to all kinds of puzzles. Some I do for the challenge. Others, such as games, I suspect that I do to expend excess energy created by my ADHD-I. One of the first puzzles I was good at is called a word search puzzle.
I can still remember how I searched for the words in a very analytical way. Take the word “pattern”, for example. I would first notice that it has two Ts and search for them specifically. Or, I would look for other letter pairs such as PA, ER, and ERN. This basic pattern recognition often made finding words easier for me to do. Research suggests the better a person is at recognizing patterns, the higher their intelligence is.
Patterns can be found throughout everyday life. In fact, many health symptoms come from patterns that were first discovered and eventually established as the research needed for medical treatments. Notice the connection with doctors. Coughing, a sore throat, congested sinuses, or a fever are common indications of ill health. Recognizing some symptoms, such as a fever, as more serious than others uses pattern recognition in an intelligent way.
After all, who wants to be sick? If I start feeling scratchiness in my throat, I make a beeline for the sore throat lozenges because I remember what can happen if I get sick. Each symptom is a pattern you can pay specific attention to. By recognizing that a fever is a more likely indication of a serious ailment, you are relying on pattern recognition and logic to proactively address your health.
Last year, when I discovered autism influences neurology, I knew it affected my everyday life because I had been seeing patterns of it for a very long time. Formative years of my childhood development and on into adulthood. Everything finally made sense. As a role model, I try to be positive, but that experience was chilling because I had been masking my autistic behavior for so many years. I was living a lie.
Years of my life that were crucial for my development cannot be changed now. I am living proof that long-term masking causes traumatic psychological damage the longer an autistic person is not properly diagnosed. Keep in mind I was not diagnosed until age 37 and did not understand autism until 2022, at age 40. Over thirty years. It is a serious understatement the effect prolonged masking can have on autistic people.
Last summer, I was offered a presentation opportunity if I could demonstrate the absence of resources for autistic people over 21. When I did informal research on social media, I did not realize I was relying on intelligent pattern recognition to substantiate the conclusions I would reach later on. Now, I have found that autism involves a myriad of complex behavioral traits that are as diverse as what I have discovered about its amazing people.
My people, with whom I now affectionately feel I belong. A social longing that has been persistently elusive from my harsh days of high school to my present-day use of social media. In the last year, I have found and conversed with autistic people all across the world. Pakistan, Japan, Canada, Switzerland, Australia, Bangladesh, all throughout the UK, and much of the USA. All from patterns.
Consider this thought-provoking observation. Remember my first-grade culinary masterpiece? The one that everyone loves. I have yet to find anyone who has made this exact sandwich. When I do, I will surely rejoice. The clear evidence of its rarity is not lost on me. Neither is the fact that my neurodiversity is directly linked to intelligent pattern recognition. Therefore, the probability is favorable for imbalanced function and higher intelligence.
#LetThatThinkIn
Welcome to the next Autism Experience.
A Futuristic Point of View.
