This is one of a series of discussion posts based on questions from the AQ-10 autism test.
2. When I’m reading a story, I find it difficult to work out the characters’ intentions.
- Definitely Agree
- Slightly Agree
- Slightly Disagree
- Definitely Disagree
Is this statement true for you? Can you think of any examples? Is it an easy or difficult question for you to answer?
You can take the full AQ-10 test here. Note this test is intended as a quick screener, and cannot diagnose or rule out any condition on its own.
I know that for most of these seemingly vague questions, I’m supposed to pick an average or likely scenario as it would apply to most people. Like the “do you prefer to go to a library or party?” question where the answer is wildly different depending on what type of party with what type of people and when. There I can assume it’s a regular NT party of small talk, loud music, drunk people, irregular distribution of snacks, and a lack of comfortable place to sit.
But here, I’m stumped. What type of story? The choice of word “characters” implies fiction, but then what? Pulpy fantasy? Sci-fi? Yeah in those everyone has their intentions either spelled out so clearly nobody will struggle to work them out, or crafted to be vague/misleading in order to facilitate a plot twist in such a way that nobody is expected to work it out.
I do read some books with complex characters, but again books tend to describe what the characters are doing. Their motivation in the overall plot? Their intentions in a specific dialogue?
And in order to “find it difficult” I need to need and try to work them out in the first place. There are complex side characters in some books that I don’t understand on a deep human level I guess, but I don’t need to in order to understand the story. Do they count?