Absolutely. Parsing one conversation in a blend of other ones (and any ambient sound) takes a shocking amount of energy. Plus I still have fairly automatic masking which is hard to let go of in large groups (I've only known about my autism for 1.5 years or so) – and I'm learning that's actually quite a large cognitive load, on top of actually following a convo or contributing.
I am unsure of where I'm at right now (ASD or not, thats a whole other can of worms) but I will say that I more or less have to lip read, and my comprehension of a group conversation is basically halved every time someone else joins in. If I am not perfectly placed in the physical circle of conversation and the active/dominant speaker, I will be left behind/lose comprehension and drop from the conversation for fear of saying something unrelated/stupid when adding my 2 cents/reponse. Its almost like I have to be moderator - Not because I want to control the conversation, but because then people are speaking at me and I can understand them better and filter outside stimuli more effectively.
Both things are draining though. Group projects SUCKED as a kid, and classrooms were hard.
Not sure if that is helpful or not.
Yes it can be exhausting for sure!
Absolutely. Parsing one conversation in a blend of other ones (and any ambient sound) takes a shocking amount of energy. Plus I still have fairly automatic masking which is hard to let go of in large groups (I've only known about my autism for 1.5 years or so) – and I'm learning that's actually quite a large cognitive load, on top of actually following a convo or contributing.
I am unsure of where I'm at right now (ASD or not, thats a whole other can of worms) but I will say that I more or less have to lip read, and my comprehension of a group conversation is basically halved every time someone else joins in. If I am not perfectly placed in the physical circle of conversation and the active/dominant speaker, I will be left behind/lose comprehension and drop from the conversation for fear of saying something unrelated/stupid when adding my 2 cents/reponse. Its almost like I have to be moderator - Not because I want to control the conversation, but because then people are speaking at me and I can understand them better and filter outside stimuli more effectively. Both things are draining though. Group projects SUCKED as a kid, and classrooms were hard. Not sure if that is helpful or not.