WEBVTT 00:00:00.020 --> 00:00:02.960 A strong indicator of autism is bottom up processing. 00:00:02.980 --> 00:00:06.780 Bottom up thinking is the way that autistics primarily see the world 00:00:06.781 --> 00:00:08.341 when compared to neurotypicals. 00:00:08.342 --> 00:00:10.941 Now everybody has a little bit of top down, 00:00:10.942 --> 00:00:12.021 a little bit of bottom up, 00:00:12.022 --> 00:00:14.101 otherwise the world wouldn't make a lot of sense. 00:00:14.102 --> 00:00:18.161 But the bottom up thinking of autistics is unique 00:00:18.180 --> 00:00:21.100 and I wanna explain it in a way that even neurotypicals can understand. 00:00:21.101 --> 00:00:24.301 My name is Sol Smith when I autistic and ADHD life coach 00:00:24.302 --> 00:00:26.101 and I wrote The Autistics Guide to Self Discovery, 00:00:26.102 --> 00:00:27.701 The Adhders Guide to Self Discovery 00:00:27.702 --> 00:00:30.441 and I run an online support community that you should check out. 00:00:30.442 --> 00:00:32.701 Bottom up processing is seeing all of the parts 00:00:32.702 --> 00:00:35.841 and with those parts making a cohesive whole. 00:00:35.860 --> 00:00:38.940 This is contrary to top down processing 00:00:38.941 --> 00:00:41.341 which is seeing the big picture, 00:00:41.342 --> 00:00:44.461 seeing an umbrella concept in from that concept, 00:00:44.462 --> 00:00:47.401 using previous knowledge to build understanding. 00:00:47.700 --> 00:00:51.760 Autistics build coherence from all of the little parts. 00:00:51.820 --> 00:00:54.260 This is different. This is more cognitively exhausting. 00:00:54.261 --> 00:00:56.061 Why they run out of bandwidth, 00:00:56.062 --> 00:00:57.941 why they can burn out so quickly. 00:00:57.942 --> 00:01:01.221 Now a way that a neurotypical could understand bottom up processing 00:01:01.222 --> 00:01:03.581 is to think about a time that they might have been in a foreign 00:01:03.582 --> 00:01:05.761 country and in this country 00:01:05.860 --> 00:01:09.900 they are very present to all of the new things that are around them. 00:01:09.901 --> 00:01:12.141 They are seeing all of the little parts, 00:01:12.142 --> 00:01:14.541 maybe they're understanding bits and pieces of the language 00:01:14.542 --> 00:01:16.341 and from that piecing together Oh, 00:01:16.342 --> 00:01:17.541 that's what that sign means. 00:01:17.542 --> 00:01:19.341 Oh, that's what those directions are. 00:01:19.342 --> 00:01:21.341 And everything is very present, 00:01:21.342 --> 00:01:25.421 very alive. They're seeing things as if for the first time. 00:01:25.422 --> 00:01:29.701 That novelty makes one day feel like it's three or four days long 00:01:29.702 --> 00:01:32.401 because everything feels very new. 00:01:32.580 --> 00:01:34.460 This is how an autistic moves through the world. 00:01:34.461 --> 00:01:38.701 This is why we try to create very predictable routines and routine 00:01:38.702 --> 00:01:41.981 predictable places because that reduces that amount 00:01:41.982 --> 00:01:44.961 of processing and piecing things together. 00:01:45.260 --> 00:01:49.280 I have a really good example of top down versus bottom of processing. 00:01:49.300 --> 00:01:52.220 I used to teach a class. It was a media literacy class 00:01:52.221 --> 00:01:55.661 and we would do this section where we were analyzing advertisements. 00:01:55.662 --> 00:01:57.221 In this section, I would say, 00:01:57.222 --> 00:02:00.421 I want you to look at three different levels of meaning in each ad. 00:02:00.422 --> 00:02:04.481 I want you to see literally what is in this picture. 00:02:04.680 --> 00:02:06.960 No.2, what is the intended message? 00:02:06.980 --> 00:02:07.740 What's the message 00:02:07.741 --> 00:02:09.941 this picture is getting across to basically everybody? 00:02:09.942 --> 00:02:12.821 And number three, what are the cultural stereotypes 00:02:12.822 --> 00:02:15.141 that they are using to build this message? 00:02:15.142 --> 00:02:16.901 Now this is a great way to analyze things. 00:02:16.902 --> 00:02:19.301 So I'd show them a picture and I would say, 00:02:19.302 --> 00:02:20.901 okay, tell me 00:02:20.902 --> 00:02:23.561 level 1. What do you see in this picture? 00:02:23.700 --> 00:02:25.060 And the students would say, 00:02:25.061 --> 00:02:26.421 Coke is delicious and refreshing. 00:02:26.422 --> 00:02:27.421 And I go, no, no, 00:02:27.422 --> 00:02:27.741 no, no, 00:02:27.742 --> 00:02:29.621 level 1, not the intended meaning, 00:02:29.622 --> 00:02:31.121 level 1. And they'd say, 00:02:31.380 --> 00:02:33.620 Coke makes you happy. And I'd say, no, 00:02:33.621 --> 00:02:34.221 no, No, 00:02:34.222 --> 00:02:35.361 no, not level 2, 00:02:35.500 --> 00:02:38.180 level 1. What do you literally see in this picture? 00:02:38.181 --> 00:02:41.821 And they go, Coke is what pretty people like. 00:02:41.822 --> 00:02:42.961 And I say, no, 00:02:43.100 --> 00:02:47.460 what you see is a woman sitting on the beach with a bottle of Coke 00:02:47.461 --> 00:02:50.321 smiling. And they'd go, oh, 00:02:51.540 --> 00:02:53.100 this is how we see the world. 00:02:53.101 --> 00:02:56.281 We see the picture before we see the message.