Neurodivergent Pattern Recognition
You take the good, you take the bad
Happy St. Patrick’s Day to those that celebrate. It’s good to see you all again!
Have you ever been watching a movie or reading a book and you just know what is going to happen next? Maybe it’s even hard to find entertainment that you enjoy because you already know the end and you haven’t even gotten to the middle.
I definitely have a problem with that. I was once watching a television show with one of my niblings, and she was so mad that I guessed all of the main plot points of the show as we worked our way through the season. The frustrated exclaim, “How did you know?!” became a staple of our watch parties. I think by the end she needed a break from me.
Why is this such an issue for us neurodivergents? Because of our stellar pattern recognition. Our neurodivergent community has a heightened ability to detect and synthesize complex patterns across time, behavior, and environments. Even neurotypicals understand that this is a strength for us even if they don’t really understand our operating system.
So what is pattern recognition and how can it help us? Let’s jump in!
What is Pattern Recognition?
Pattern recognition is a cognitive ability involving identifying and interpreting regularities/irregularities in data. It is the ability to notice connections, relationships, and trends across data sets. And it is insanely important. It enables us to make sense of complex input and predict what the outcome will be.
This is essential for decision-making and learning. Through pattern recognition we are able to recognize familiar objects, facial expressions, events, social cues, and behaviors, and respond accordingly. In fact, our survival itself can rely on pattern recognition. If we were unable to identify dangers or food sources, we wouldn’t last very long.
Here are some common types of pattern recognition:
Visual – Involves visual input such as recognizing faces or reading text
Auditory – Recognizing patterns in sounds such as spoken language or music
Temporal – Identifying patterns over time, such predicting rhythms
Mathematical – Uses numbers or sequences for patterning
Neurodiverse Pattern Recognition
For neurotypicals, the ability to recognize patterns will vary immensely from person to person. However, because neurodivergents are wired differently, we tend to have more intense pattern recognition than our neurotypical counterparts.
We aren’t linear thinkers who create step-by-step predictions. We are more likely to observe and take in huge quantities of input and interpret them in non-linear, or even seemingly unconnected ways.
In fact, the amount of information we take in is much higher than neurotypicals. We are constantly taking in streams of verbal, emotional, sensory, and contextual information. Because we take in so much information, we are more easily able to notice more subtle connections, sequence changes, and contradictions.
Furthermore, we don’t only compare the current data set to exactly matching situations. Instead we compare the current situation against our massive internal library of previous patterns, including historical, social, behavioral, and even personal patterns. With all that stored data to use for comparison, we are able to quickly synthesize the information and predict the continuation of the current situation.
Finally, we tend to experience non-linear time perception. Though we are living in the present, we are also living in projected future. The result may not have happened yet, but we already know what is coming. That is a future that, while not true yet, is already emotionally and cognitively real to us.
Because of this we may respond to problems that no one else has noticed yet, feel a great urgency about future outcomes, experience the emotional outcome before the event occurs, and/or be labeled as ‘paranoid, impulsive, or catastrophizing’. We may be living before the conclusion has happened, but we are already experiencing it.
How Your Neurospice Contributes
As a whole, we can see that neurodivergents are more skilled at pattern recognition. But, even amongst ourselves, we can have different pattern recognition strengths based on our particular type of neurospice.
Below are some common symptoms of neurodivergence and how they affect your pattern recognition:
Hyperfocus – The intense focus we can experience leads to a deep familiarity with the patterns associated with our topic of interest. Our laser focus on these specific topics allows us to discern patterns that others may miss.
Masking – Masking is all about fitting in to the norm. Many of us have unconsciously studied the neurotypicals around us to learn social norms, linguistic cues, body language, micro-expressions, and vocal intonation. We pay so much attention to them, that it is easy for us to recognize when something doesn’t fit the normal pattern.
Detail-Oriented Perception – Autistic people exhibit ‘enhanced perceptual functioning’. In a nutshell, this means that they process details more acutely than neurotypicals, and provides an exceptional ability to notice subtle patterns in sensory information.
Dopamine Seeking – ADHDers often need stimulation due to inconsistent levels of dopamine. Because we are constantly scanning our environment for the dopamine activities, we are much quicker at finding unexpected patterns.
Non-Linear Thinking – Neurodivergents tend not to think in the same way as neurotypicals. We often use seemingly unrelated data to find patterns that fit the situation. We are more able to make connections between situations because we are including data neurotypicals would not use in the same situation
Time Blindness and Task Completion – Often occurring in ADHD, the combination of time blindness and the need to get our tasks completed can lead us to creative solutions in order to meet our deadlines. The need to get things done quickly often pushes us to find new patterns that speed up our task completion. Time pressure is a great motivator for us and sometimes we need to be able to shave off a few minutes in order to get the job done. No better way to do that than to identify the existing patterns and see how we can adjust them to make the task easier and faster.
Drawbacks of Increased Pattern Recognition
While we are amazing at pattern recognition, this doesn’t necessarily mean that there is no downside. As we know, being neurodiverse means that our brains work differently. There are upsides, but there are also things that are made harder by our unique operating system.
Here are some of the ways that our increased pattern recognition may hurt us in a neurotypical world:
Mental Fatigue: One of the reasons we are so good at pattern recognition is because we are taking in insane amounts of input. On top of that, our brains are subconsciously scanning that information to find patterns and come to conclusions pretty much at all times. We are expending an enormous amount of mental capacity and that can lead us to fatigue or burnout.
Arrived Too Early: Even though we are able to come to conclusions much more quickly than our neurotypical counterparts, that does not mean that the conclusions are useful. Often, when we try to provide warnings to avoid a problem we see coming on the horizon, our concerns are dismissed. Unfortunately, if the neurotypicals in our lives receive the conclusion too soon, they will disregard it and may be upset with you for ‘making things up’ or ‘catastrophizing’.
Outside the Box: Outside the box thinkers are valued in some spaces, but often when our patterns do not fit the expected steps, they will be overlooked. Many times, neurotypicals will cling to the expected and our conclusions will not fit with what they will expect to happen or how they expect the information to be collected. If they are unable to fit our logic with their expectations of the process, it will be dismissed.
To Sum It Up:
Pattern recognition is a particular strength of the neurodivergent community. We are able to see subtle changes in our environment and quickly extrapolate out the outcome of these changes. We are able to learn and make decisions more rapidly than a number of our counterparts.
However, when our counterparts do not understand how, why, or when we got to our conclusions, they can be summarily dismissed. As unfair as it is, we are often forced to wait for our predictions to come true for vindication.
Focus on your strengths and ignore anyone who does not understand your operating system. You’re doing an amazing job!
Your Turn: Do you have any pattern recognition stories? Share with the community in the comments! Let’s support each other in reaching our goals.
Got a topic you’d like to see me tackle next? Drop me a message – I’m all ears and ready to dive into whatever helps us all grow together!
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