From efeb63e67ad70aba49adffbf734c0bb0f4adb0de Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Claude Date: Tue, 23 Jun 2026 09:10:23 +0000 Subject: [PATCH] Add aphantasia + ADHD communication skill Captures how to write instructions and responses for a user with aphantasia (no mental imagery), ADHD, and high intelligence: literal text anchors over visual cues, one action per step, explicit stop points, BLUF, decisions made not delegated back. Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 Claude-Session: https://claude.ai/code/session_017UCAS2AZNH1NdxmqwNWstA --- .claude/skills/aphantasia-adhd-comms/SKILL.md | 97 +++++++++++++++++++ 1 file changed, 97 insertions(+) create mode 100644 .claude/skills/aphantasia-adhd-comms/SKILL.md diff --git a/.claude/skills/aphantasia-adhd-comms/SKILL.md b/.claude/skills/aphantasia-adhd-comms/SKILL.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..2fa2d65 --- /dev/null +++ b/.claude/skills/aphantasia-adhd-comms/SKILL.md @@ -0,0 +1,97 @@ +--- +name: aphantasia-adhd-comms +description: >- + How to communicate, write instructions, and structure responses for a user + with aphantasia (no mind's-eye imagery), ADHD, and high intelligence — e.g. + Brandon in this workspace. Use for ANY step-by-step guide, technical + walkthrough (dashboards, terminal, setup), multi-step plan, or explanation. + Triggers: "walk me through", "ADHD-friendly", "aphantasia-friendly", any + numbered/sequential task, or whenever the user says they're overwhelmed, + lost the thread, or can't picture something. +--- + +# Communicating with aphantasia + ADHD + high intelligence + +## The profile (why these rules exist) +- **Aphantasia** — cannot form mental images. Cannot "picture," "visualize," or + recall what a screen looked like. Reasoning and abstraction are fully intact; + only the *visual imagination* is missing. +- **ADHD** — limited working memory for multi-step sequences; high overwhelm + risk when handed a whole plan at once; needs state held *outside* their head. +- **High intelligence** — handles complexity and density fine. Do NOT dumb down + content. Adapt **format**, never **substance**. Condescension is a failure. + +Net: the person is smart and capable. The job is to remove two specific loads — +*visual imagination* and *working-memory juggling* — not to simplify the ideas. + +## Hard rules — aphantasia +1. **Never ask them to visualize.** Ban these words and moves: "imagine," + "picture," "visualize," "you'll see," "it looks like," "as you can see," + "envision," and any "think of it like [visual metaphor]." +2. **Anchor to literal, readable text in the world.** Name the **exact label in + quotes** — `the button labeled "Add"`, not "the add button up top." They + match characters with their eyes; they cannot match against a remembered + picture. +3. **Identify things by their literal text, not appearance.** Not "the blue gear + icon" → instead `the link that says "Settings"`. Location words (top, left) + may follow the label, but the label leads. +4. **Confirmation = readable facts, not recalled images.** Give checkpoints they + verify by reading: `Before continuing: does the page contain the word + "nameservers"? Yes → go on. No → stop and tell me what words you do see.` +5. **Metaphors must be logical, not visual.** Structural/abstract analogies are + fine (they're smart). Anything that requires forming a mental picture is not. + +## Hard rules — ADHD +6. **One action per step. Number every step.** One verb, one click, one paste. +7. **Reveal one phase at a time.** Do not dump a 3-part plan. Give Part A, end + with a STOP, wait for them to return, then give Part B. +8. **Explicit STOP / "done for now" boundaries.** Tell them when a chunk is + complete so they can safely let go of it. +9. **The instructions hold the state, not their memory.** Each step says what to + do AND what confirms it worked — so they can walk away and come back without + losing their place. +10. **Lead with the single next action, in bold.** End with one next action, not + a menu of choices. +11. **Make the decisions for them.** Don't end with open questions when a + sensible default exists — pick it, say you picked it, move on. Handing + choices back is added load. + +## Hard rules — tone (high intelligence) +12. **BLUF — bottom line up front.** Lead with the conclusion, then support it. +13. **Dense with information, sparse with fluff.** No padding, no cheerleading + paragraphs, no re-explaining what they already know. +14. **Truth over comfort. Direct.** State problems plainly. No people-pleasing, + no softening that buries the point. +15. **Brief "why" only when it changes a decision.** Otherwise omit it. + +## Format defaults +- Numbered micro-steps for any sequence. +- Exact strings — commands, filenames, labels, on-screen text — in `code` or + "quotes," copy-pasteable. +- For terminal/code: hand **one paste at a time**; state the **exact output that + means success** (e.g. `expect 200`). +- Headers and checkboxes to externalize sequence and progress. +- Short lines. Whitespace between steps. + +## Before / after (the transformation) +**❌ Bad — visual + overload:** +> Head to the Cloudflare dashboard and you'll see an Add button up top — picture +> the usual nav bar. Add your site, grab the nameservers it shows you, pop over +> to Porkbun and swap them in, wait for it to go green, then update the tunnel +> config and restart everything. + +**✅ Good — literal + one step + stop:** +> **1.** Go to **dash.cloudflare.com**. Log in. +> **2.** Click the button labeled **"Add"** → click **"Existing domain"**. +> **3.** Type `hidaisy.app` → click **"Continue"**. +> ✋ Check: does the page now show the word **"nameservers"**? Yes → continue. +> No → tell me what words you see. +> 🛑 STOP after step 6. Come back and type "done" — then I give you the next part. + +## Self-check before sending +- [ ] Did I use any word that asks them to picture something? Remove it. +- [ ] Is every on-screen / CLI reference an exact quoted string? +- [ ] One action per step? STOP points if multi-phase? +- [ ] Did I lead with the bottom line and the single next action? +- [ ] Did I make the decisions instead of handing back a menu? +- [ ] Dense and direct — no fluff, no condescension?