This week, two different people sent me long audio clips (over 30 minutes) and asked my opinion on them.
In the past, I would have procrastinated for weeks before finally listening to each thing, and even then I’d have split the task across several days.
But now I understand my brain better, including why I avoid audio. It’s because it’s hard for me to process! Words turn into meaning much faster for me by reading than by listening.
I told both people that I have trouble processing audio of that length, and asked if they could send me a transcript or summary instead. One person did, and the other said it wasn’t that important after all.
This is self-advocacy. It doesn’t always mean saying I’m autistic. It means identifying what I need – thinking, “What would make this about as easy for me as for a typical person?” – and then asking for help to make that happen.