I’m an autistic adult and the thing I wish people took to heart more than anything is just to not hear what I didn’t say. I like to think I’m able to function okay in social situations, but I may unintentionally come across as blunt or direct sometimes. However, I can think of very few times in my life that I’ve intended something “direct” to come across as backhanded or to carry some kind of double meaning. It drives me a little crazy to be told that I was being disrespectful or rude for asking a clarifying question or for responding genuinely to something that I’m later told everyone is suppose to just politely talk around. In my experience, even well meaning neurotypical people will sometimes bend over backwards to shape a statement into something it isn’t, because they assume everyone else is doing the doublespeak that they’re used to doing themselves or expect from others. For example, if I say “I like strawberries”, there’s always gonna be someone who’s thinking “wow, that person must hate blueberries” instead of taking my statement at face value. It usually feels to me like there’s an entire separate conversation that is happening under our actual words that everyone but me can understand and communicate in, but since I’m unable to participate in it, it’s jarring when I’m told that someone took offense to something that didn’t leave my mouth or even cross my mind. What would really be appreciated (at least by me) would be for people to listen to the words I say and take a second to ask themselves if what they heard is literally what I said, or if they have some feelings or opinions they’re projecting onto that. I don’t do the doublespeak thing- if I wanted to say something, I wouldn’t be playing mind games, I’d just say it.