When autistic people correct others, it’s not about “needing to be right,” and here’s why

There's an extremely common misconception that autistic people need to be right. That we are always correcting others because we think we know better than everyone else.

And I want to explain why this is a wildly inaccurate understanding of the internal autistic experience...

I think our need to correct others is actually tied to bottom up processing. (See my previous posts for more on what this means)

We don't correct people because we need to be right...

We are *compelled* to correct *information* (not people) when we believe it is incorrect or inaccurate because it confuses our understanding of the world around us.

It confuses our own learned knowledge, perceptions, and experiences.

It conflicts with what we know to be true.

(Not in our gut... in our brain, cognitively, due to painstakingly acquired and integrated knowledge over time)

And the information provided is rarely shared in a way that gives us enough logic to reconsider our own knowledge or understanding of the world.

So, we offer a correction.

Usually with a detailed explanation as to why the information we are providing is correct and coherent.

We give the other person the very thing we ourselves need in order to reconsider our perspectives and perceived truths.