Autistic people tend to notice spoken language more than body language and tone. Most of us notice surprising sights and sounds more than consistent ones, and pay more attention to sensory input in general than the average person does. Everything else about autism is downstream from this. We often miss social cues, because we take people literally. We often move in a rhythm, because it soothes our overstimulated senses. We often experience anxiety, and sometimes even trauma, from sensory shock and unexplained rejection. We often turn to predictable foods, objects, phrases, and interests,
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