Understanding and Supporting Autistic Needs: Understanding Intuition and Autism

Intuition, often an innate ability to understand or know something without conscious reasoning, stems from our brain’s ability to recognize patterns and make connections based on prior experience. This intuitive process is fast and operates below conscious thought, allowing people to make quick judgments and decisions.

How Intuition Works

Intuition happens when the brain draws on past experiences, emotions, and cognitive processes that are not immediately accessible to the conscious mind. For neurotypical individuals, this can lead to rapid assessments and decisions without analysing every detail consciously. For instance, someone might feel uneasy about a situation without consciously knowing why, only to realize later that subconsciously, they had noticed red flags based on previous similar experiences.

Challenges for Autistic Individuals

For many autistic individuals, intuitive thinking can be less accessible due to differences in how their brains process information. The unique patterns of brain connectivity are often described as having enhanced local processing but reduced long-range connectivity between different brain regions. This configuration can affect how information is integrated and how experiences are generalized.

Autistic people may not automatically access or rely on intuitive judgments similarly because their brains do not seamlessly connect past experiences with current situations. They may need explicit information and clear logic to understand and process new or complex conditions, which is why unanswered questions (“Why?” questions) can be particularly distressing and anxiety-inducing.

Understanding the Impact of Non-Responsiveness on Autistic Individuals

Having answers is not just a “want”; it is to avoid physical discomfort in the body and the mind when we don’t know. Routine and predictability nurture both mental and physical wellness, enabling us to engage fully in life, much like our non-autistic counterparts do instinctively

• Heightened Stress Response: Autistic individuals may experience an elevated stress response when faced with uncertainty. The brain’s amygdala, which processes emotions, could interpret the lack of explanation as a potential threat, triggering anxiety or even panic.
• Cognitive Overload: The need for detailed processing means that without clear and complete information, the brain of an autistic person might struggle to resolve pending questions, leading to obsessive thought patterns and mental fatigue.

• Sense of Insecurity: Consistently unanswered questions can leave autistic individuals feeling ignored or misunderstood. This lack of communicative clarity can undermine their sense of security and lower self-esteem.
• Increased Emotional Sensitivity: The stress from unclear communication can intensify emotional responses. This heightened sensitivity can result in more frequent or severe emotional outbursts, which are expressions of the underlying distress.

Communication Strategies

Understanding this need for clarity and explicit information can guide how one communicates with autistic individuals. Here are some practical tips:

1. Overexplain Rather Than Underexplain: Provide detailed and structured information when explaining concepts or instructions. Breaking down tasks into clear, logical steps helps prevent misunderstandings and reduces anxiety for autistic individuals.
2. Validate and Acknowledge: If you don’t have an answer immediately, it’s okay to admit it. However, follow up with a commitment to find out. This approach acknowledges the question, validates the person’s need for information, and closes the loop by promising a resolution.
3. Avoid Frustration and Keep Communication Open: It can be easy to become impatient if someone repeatedly asks why or needs detailed explanations for things that seem obvious. However, remember that this need stems from a genuine desire to understand the world in a way that makes sense to them.
4. Create Predictable Communication Patterns: Since autistic individuals often find comfort and security in predictability, try to be consistent in your interactions and how you provide information.

Conclusion

For autistic individuals, not knowing “why” isn’t just a minor irritation—it can lead to significant anxiety and prolonged mental strain as their brain struggles to “close the loop” and complete the system. By providing clear, detailed explanations and acknowledging when more information is needed, caregivers and communicators can greatly assist autistic individuals in managing daily interactions and reducing the cognitive load from trying to piece together unclear or incomplete information. This approach doesn’t just help autistic individuals cope—it enriches their lives by making the world more understandable and navigable.