Multi-channel communication
From ActuallyAutistic Wiki
This is a mini stub article just to get things started!
Neurotypical people often communicate along two separate channels:
- 1. Words/content
- 2. Vibes
As an autistic person, I'm usually focused on just words/content. That means that as I'm talking I sometimes accidentally transmit negative vibes, or vibes that are out of line with the content of my speech. Or, when a neurotypical person is talking to me, sometimes they're only "sketching" with their words in a way that isn't meant to be taken literally; mainly, they're transmitting vibes that they hope I pick up on.
A major source of misunderstandings for me has been sending vibes I didn't mean to send, or neurotypical people sending vibes and expecting me to receive them.