Relationship between AS and visual-spatial learners?

Post Reply New Topic

Hi,
I have an AS son and have been looking into giftedness lately, and discovered about visual-spatial learners who are governed by right-brained learning (eg. think in pictures, are creative etc.) as opposed to auditory-sequential learners who tend to be more left-brained (think in words and are sequential). My AS son fits more into the visual-spatial category and I am wondering if a lot of his problems with school are due to his learning style clashing with an auditory-sequential style of teaching and learning. Does anyone know much about this area, and whether it is specifically related to AS?

Well, 80% of people with AS have NLD, and people with NLD have visuo-spatial processing problems. It seems like many individuals with autism are visual learners however, so Aspies without NLD may be visual learners as well. Certainly the Aspie stereotype of being good with math, physics, etc., would fit with a visual learner profile.

there's a girl in here who's doing her ¿lab? research about something like this, sorry I tried to remember her username but can't remember it right now. Maybe it won't take long for her to notice this thread and answer

I think it's SteelMaiden but I'm not so sure

Try Montesorri.

this area IS related to AS.
However not all AS are visual spatial thinkers.
it is important that you realise this, as if you show a visual thinker how to do something they will get it, pick it up fairly quickly.
however if you tell a visual thinker how to do something or expect them to read it they wont do so well.

It isnt necessarily a disadvantage but it is different to non AsSauditory sequential thinkers.

you will find most AS visual thinkers tend to use or respond to analogies when attempting to describe a process in their mind.

the reason is, in my opinion that the term "visual" is a misnomer. it conjures up images of TV-like-vision.
it isnt in my mind and discussing with others and it gets very difficult to explain.

I have a 6 yo AS son who is also a visual thinker, i am an As visual thinker.

i use analogies or symbols to explain to him alomost all things.

if i use words....the literalness confuses him, and pictures confuse him as it is often different to how he has "imagined" it in his mind and again due to visual literalness he may not understand the visual cue.

Wehn i use symbols or analogies it allows him the flexibility of thought to "see" what im trying to get across without the literal As interpretaion.

Personally, I am very much right brained & am very visual. To apply things I learn, I must actually do it too. Can't just pick up on things either audibly or visually. Without the actual physical aspect, I can't retain information. Doesn't/didn't work for sports though. LOL I just have too many coordination issues to pick up on sports, unless speed/time is not a factor. Now I know that this is a factor as AS. Wish I'd have known when I was a lot younger!! !

I had this problem myself. I had to take a class on what side of the brain I had more strength in. Then we learned ways of coping with this problem by using tools that fit our own needs. I don't believe that just b/c you can't function in the same way as another person that you're automatically incapable of learning aka learning disability or slow depending upon how one stereotypes a pupil.

I find I learn better with visual and auditorial stimuli as opposed to written material.

I'm the total opposite. Written material is how I learn. I often wished I could stay home and read the textbook rather than attending class during college.

I would say I learn both verbally and visually. I am a bit confused because it seems to me like learning something by reading it is visual... I would think the distinction would be between auditory and visual, not visual and verbal, but I guess that's wrong. I have a very good auditory memory but I do not learn well at all by listening - I tune out way too easily. Lectures are tough because unless I'm very interested in the material and/or the teacher is conveying a lot of information, I tend to zone out. Give me something to read, though, and I'm good to go.

I fit the NLD profile.... but on this website I see the dancer twirling clockwise....
http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/ ... 61,00.html
I'll have to do some more self-investigation before I can assist.

I don't think that means anything. I also see the dancer moving clockwise, and I am officially diagnosed with NLD. I think the dancer thing is meant to be a fun diversion, but not to seriously indicate whether or not someone is a left-brained or right-brained thinker (if you can even lump people into these categories so easily in the first place).

Same here. When people talk about learning styles, it's generally either learning best through spoken words or through pictures, and I'm neither; I learn best through written words.

the written word learners...do you find you have to re-read a passage to re-enforce and rote learn it.
or do you pick it up effortlessly.

i can skim read and learn enough for an exam and then dump it all later, or i can "really learn" read where i learn a concept for life, forever. the later takes time and effort thou and i have to read, re-read and repeat until i get it.

is this how you do it?

When I hear non-visual words, I have to try to translate them into pictures. This is easy if they come slowly. It's hard when a long stream of them come at me all at once. Then I feel like I'm drowning. In school I dealt with this by taping my classes and then taking notes at the same time. Then at night I listened to my classes while rewriting my notes. I guess this would not work for a really young child- no help there. I just floundered until I was 18.

I had a hard time seeing that dancer turn anti-clockwise and it jumped straight back into clockwise. I think I meet profiles for both sides of the brain though (at least from what was written on that site) almost half-half but I'm not sure if I interpret some of it right...

anyway, I can learn easily from written text but I always have to visualise it. I just had an oral exam that I studied for from a textbook and I noticed that when answering questions I had a clear picture of that text in my head and was actually *reading* from the page that I remembered visually.

I got some penalty points for no eye-contact but how the heck are you supposed to keep eye-contact while reading ;p

If I skim read I'd only have a picture of some words/phrases f.ex. the highlited ones, italics etc

I need to read it a few times to have the whole picture in my head.

If I have to learn something that actually makes sense (not just facts, dates, names or vocabulary like above) I usually can do it with one read only. that depends on the volume though.