What Is Autism? Autism & Society
HTML-код
- Опубликовано: 1 дек 2020
- Autism is easy to explain...isn't it? The internet is full of descriptions of autism from charities, medical companies, health authorities and academics, but hardly any of them have had any input from a single autistic person.
A communal definition of autism
autcollab.org/projects/a-comm...
autistamatic.com
You can buy the T-shirt worn in this video here:
www.teepublic.com/en-gb/t-shi...
Made with Shotcut, open source video editing software
www.shotcut.org/
Images, stock video, sound effects and music not created by the channel have been obtained from RUclips creator resources or from the following sources:
www.rgbstock.com/
www.videvo.net/ (author - Videvo)
pixabay.com/
filmmusic.io/
freesound.org/
Every effort has been made to ensure that copyrights are respected and that material used is in the public domain. Where copyrighted material is used it is under the terms of "fair use" for educational purposes. All copyrights remain the property of their respective owners.
I've always considered my autism to be a curse. It's made me a target for bullies. Communication is much more difficult. Social situations are far more unsettling and frightening for me, as I need to watch for contextual clues that NO ONE really lists or explains so I try to be as aware as possible, but that's like trying to consciously see everything at the same time. And when I do make a mistake I get lectured or even yelled at, but when others make mistakes I'm expected to forgive them after a simply apology. These and other inconsistencies are impossible for me to ignore, so they knock around in my head and make me resentful of others. And then there's the emotional sensitivity, my greatest weakness. It's left me vulnerable to breakdowns and meltdowns when being criticized or dismissed. I have no problem with receiving feedback on my behavior, but it's the delivery that counts.
Sometimes I feel like Frankenstein's monster. I have a lot of pieces that most people would think are great, but the way they are put together means the world won't see me for that.
your view is easily understandable and I respect it, as its how this has been for you and nobody can take away from your lived experiences.. for me I have felt and lived through a lot of pain on my autistic journey in life, but I do feel society is the deficit in most of my struggles not me. I know its not all perfect and i have co-occurring learning difficulties too so for me its been most certainly tough in many settings.. but if society met us half way.. if the double empathy issue was seen by NT's and followed life for us complication and all would be much better i feel...
@@davidkirwan7865 That's another thing that I've noticed. I don't mind learning or training myself, but I can only go so far. I can mask my autism and learn to mimic others, but my underlying neurology will not change. So why am I being asked to change my neurology, an impossible task? Even people I know have said things along these lines. One person asked if I couldn't reprogram my brain to compensate. I won't say who out of respect for them, but to me the sentiment is so much like "have you ever tried not being gay or trans". Autism, like sexual orientation, is rooted in biology, so unless you have effective gene therapy I can only go so far. I may be better at masking my autism, and I may be better at socializing, but how far can we be expected to go?
@@howardlanus8467 I think the changes people demand of us are not acceptable, for them to feel its our responsibility to change and adapt to the Nth degree is ridiculous Damian Miltons Double empathy problem is clear, we spend a lot of time adjusting and learning their ways, and behaviours, yet they do not meet us half way, they are in the main confident and blinded by their status, though so many of their systems not only let down and fail us, but them as well in many cases, their way of being is not for everyone of their own kind, let alone neurodivergent people, majority rules rule and they care not for the collateral damage!
This is the problem and only by collectively supporting change for autistics and neurodivergent people can we bring about change together, so stick with us lets collectively be louder and prouder and change things for us all.. united we thrive divided we fall...
@@davidkirwan7865 Indeed. That sort of blindness to personal privilege is perhaps the biggest problem in the world. People with the most power and money, the ones with the greatest ability to change the world, do not consider themselves fortunate or lucky, especially in the West. Instead they consider themselves to be hard-working geniuses that have to drag the rest of society along for the ride, never once considering how much they depended on others like parents, teachers, and business partners. What hardships have they truly endured? Does anything that they have experienced truly compare to the worst-off in society? The impoverished, the homeless, the dispossessed, the outcast? None of it.
To be fair, I used to think and feel along similar lines as a youth. I was bullied yes but I had a home, plenty of food and clothes, and parents that tried their best to help, though they didn't know I was autistic. Then I went abroad to India, a beautiful country, with my dad on a business trip. That was the first time I truly saw people worse off than myself. It was a real eye-opener, and after that I became a better person, or at least I'd like to think so.
Perhaps that's the biggest problem with the world, not just for neurodivergents but everyone; the rich and powerful never experienced true hardship or suffering, so they have nothing to compare it to. They never had to humble themselves and reach out to others, or beg for help just to get by. They've never been on the outside, never had to struggle as much as others.
So to get things done, we need to stick together and make it clear that what we want: a better, more just world, with more understanding and empathy for others. And we need a well-laid out plan to achieve it, so we won't be distracted or undermined by token cooperation.
I know im late to the party but as an Autistic adult woman i completly understand how yall feel. Ive been told" the world dont revolve around you, aint nobody gonna baby you, nobody cares you need to adjust to the world. The world aint gonna adjust to you." And all of that because i asked to be understood, loved, and accepted. I dont care what they say we aint the sole problem its the people who created this fucked up society. And its crazy because NT( not all) expect us to just conform like nobody is compassionate nobody is understanding anymore we live in a very cold world where one person is expected to perform perfectly while the other can make mistakes and its okay. Like i know life aint fair but this is sick. Now i see why we prefer to be alone. Its like you are wrong for being kind and just ask for support. I will never understand this way of life. Im a firm beliver of equally and what i mean by that is i believe we should all treat each other equally. Im not equal to a man and no man is equal to me because im a woman thats impossible. But its all about how we treat each other. Im tired of the Superior and Inferior narrative that humans carry. Like we all want the same thing and its just to be loved. Like why make it so complicated. Stay true to yourself family.
Will be sharing this with my non autistic friends as one of the most clearly communicated descriptions of autism I've yet come across. Thank you
All I know is that all the autistic people I've ever met or had experience with or have heard of have been incredibly, impressively intelligent. I think society as a whole doesn't know how to deal with people who are deep and keenly logical thinkers.
Brilliantly done as always Quinn, thank you for all that you do. I totally agree that autism needs to be defined by those of us who are autistic and when I said that to a non-autistic family member, their response was, "It can't possibly be defined by autistic people because that would be biased." I have to admit, it left me kind of speechless. Very best wishes, Jane
Yours is a very valuable comment Jane. What I hoped to illustrate in the film is that bias already exists and it is very much against us.
There is a huge flaw to their logic though. Why would any "bias", such as they fear, skew against us receiving necessary supports when they are needed?
If I may use a medical analogy:
Only the patient knows what their pain is, where it is located and how severe it is. Our problem as a "people" right now is that that data varies so much across our number yet those charged with identifying our needs rarely listen to what we tell them, preferring to tell US where our pain is instead. Consequently we find ourselves treated for pains we don't have whilst real pain is ignored.
@@Autistamatic Thanks Quinn. You definitely did illustrate that point beautifully and that's what brought that experience to mind. I love your medical analogy, it really illustrates our position well. It is so difficult to get non-autistics to really 'listen' and not to tell us that they know us better than we know ourselves and as you say, as long as that's the case, people don't get the acceptance, respect and support they need.
Unreal!!!!!!! Luckily I don't talk about anything too personal with my family. Suits me fine!!
I'm fortunate enough to actually have a meatspace hangout just *jam* packed with neurodivergent people. The bartender is autistic, and a bunch of her autistic friends come to hang out and just be ourselves without having to worry about being judged. I found the place when someone told me the bar has an open jam on Thursday nights. I play bass and don't you dare start making guitarist remarks at me or I'll play the guitar part of the intro to Crazy Train at you...
I jam with the band and occasionally another player who has turned up knowing the same songs I do, dance with drunk guys, dance by myself, go dance with other patrons if dancing spontaneously breaks out elsewhere in the bar. I've realized that dancing for me is a form of stimming. I can just let the music take hold of me and move my body and all the tension just melts away.
I also dance while I'm pushing my shopping cart down the aisles at the supermarket. If I'm walking somewhere and someone stops at a red light with annoyingly loud music blasting out their speakers, I'll start dancing. What do people think of me? I don't give an eff.
We have a word in Norwegian: "Medmenneske". Google, for once, translates this very well! Fellow human. Every person I meet is a fellow human. Some people think I am a bit batty for thinking that way, but I am stubborn! I also try to BE a fellow human. That means being helpful and kind and caring. I hate when people get put into boxes. How can you put individuals into boxes??? I have a friend who is diagnosed autistic. I suspect her mother may have been given the same diagnosis if she were born now and not when she was. I suspect I could have been diagnosed as autistic, because I recognize myself in a lot of the character traits you describe as quite typical for autistics. I'm glad that you point out the worth of having great knowledge and/or skill in specific areas. Where would the world be if scientists were generalists, for example?
Thank you so much for making all these videos! For me, it is like sitting down with a nice guy who can answer the questions I have, or that I didn't know were questions I should ask. I am learning a lot - and I am enjoying your company!
PS. I also love the way you talk with your hands! Elegant and giving wonderful punctuation to what you say. 🙂
Very real 😊😊😊😊😊😊🎉
You sure are rockin' in the communication department, Mr. Quinn! 😄 Deficits, my hirsute and bony posterior!
The background noise at just after 05:00 regarding what aliens would think of us… ouch! I was freaking out a tiny but because I thought I was having a tinnitus flair up.😅
Well done - all said right.
Thank you, for your time and energy 🙏
I have been giving my opinion to people I've spoken with, well Before even knowing I myself am on the spectrum, that; " I firmly believe people who are on the spectrum and those who have ADD/ADHD are the more obvious signs of human evolution. The amount of good doings and the accomplishments we as a species will achieve are going to be unmeasurable."
I have been saying this over and over for years now and
I have so much more to say on this topic.
Also as someone being on the spectrum and trying to settle in now that I know where I fit in, I am increasingly finding that I don't want to nor should I have to adjust myself for anyone to accept me. I have been unknowingly masking myself for my entire life and it's no wonder I always felt exhausted around people. Now that I have very reasonable explanations of why I do things the way I do them, or my outside the box thinking (which proved to be more of use than not) is not a "airhead" way of thinking. Or the "what were you thinking, I don't understand your logic" statements can be defended with and actual reason I feel like I can finally breath. That I don't have to sit a certain way, be a certain way (as a woman this is what drove me the most insane) or talk a certain way be interested in certain things and don't let anyone know what it is I really want to say think sit, talk, or be.....
I would rather the other person adjust themselves for me! Why? Because they're the inside the box typical person and chances of them having to adjust themselves again that day or evening or even that week or maybe month is way less than if it were me and I don't know about anyone else on the spectrum but I believe it's time we stop accomodations for everyone else when there's fewer people on the spectrum (to my knowledge) than there are neurotypical people. We shouldn't have to mask or even worry about masking or worry about what we should be like or if we're being appropriate to their liking. (And of course we're behaving ethical and obeying laws, exedra.) Correct me if I'm wrong, but it seems most of the RUclips videos about the autistic community and helping those of us with recent awareness of being on the spectrum, still want us to mask ourselves or seem to be with some degree suggesting this. They almost come across as shamed or timid about being autistic and I'm flabbergasted as to why,?? Maybe.... ok I probably could be very much misinterpreting what I've watched and thought I was learning. But from my perspective this is real to me and it frustrates me because I feel we're in a very important monumental time of human life, if my theory is correct and there should be more of a proactive positive movement on this than what I am seeing so far. No more adjustment for me! This isn't me being standoffish or difficult either. This is me, (my name is Dawn) being my authentic self and I'm never going to hide her, mask her, change her or try to fit in anywhere with Anyone ever again! I am grateful for being who I am, flaws and quarks and all and I firmly believe that everyone (on the spectrum or not) should be as well and never feel ashamed! I believe autism is a blessing and I know there will be great things in our future if we stay vigilant in not giving in to the "typical" society and stay true to your authentic selves.
--Rant over.. 😁 thanks for reading! This was my first outreach since I became aware of myself, it's been pent up. Lol. Have a beautiful day/evening.
-Dawn
Are you autistic? How would you answer? I'll compile the best & most interesting ideas from the comments here, from the messages sent via autistamatic.com & social media into a later video.
As an autistic man, if I were asked "what is autism?", I would give the dictionary definition. But if I were asked "what is autism like for you?" Or "what does it mean to be autistic for you?" I would give a different answer.
I am very big on semantics. The way a question is worded will completely change my answer, even if both questions were intended the exact same.
As a biologist (with autism), I see autism through the lense of history, and how genes and traits are passed down in populations. For me this is the most accurate way to successfully interpret what autism is, even though it's very difficult to do since the science is still progressing in this field :)
Genetically, we don't seem to have changed much in the 200'000 years of our known existence. What we as humans have in common is that the survival of us as individuals has always depended on protection within a social group. So there's no coincidence that the majority of all people have inherited high social skill levels. Therefore, being autistic with lower social skills will bring vulnerability for any individual both in today's society - and further back in human history. But whatever the genetic variations between autism may be, it is still here!
All species on earth have naturally occurring genetic variations which provides a range of different possible skills and traits. This is highly serving as a buffer and tools for us to adapt to challenges in the environment. If a genetic variation and their expressed traits are disadvantageous enough in the populations it will disappear naturally over time due to natural selection. Since the autistic genotype and phenotype is still expressed in our human gene pool, it may be that - either the lower social skills haven't been a big enough issue to be selected against in history... or our autistic ways of thinking and acting may have been viewed as possible strengths. Maybe autism is somewhere on the limit of surviving, since it is still only comprises about 1-3% of the population? Though, if it was a big advantage to have autism it would likely be more common in the gene pool of the world.
As a scientist I am open to that autism is more a disorder than it is a super power. I'm also open to that it really has, and will contribute positively to the human race! If we look at society today we see that the autistic way of being does not always fit in, and I think it is important for our own sakes to accept that. We can change culture and spread awareness to a certain degree, but if our brains are differently wired than the majority of the population, then we must unite as autistics to push for accomodations for ourselves. Thank you for your videos! These are my two cents:)
Wrong planet syndrome , bullied, made victims, made vulnerable. I seek change. I answered. We are disabled by society because we have different processing systems sensory systems and social structures. We are not defo it. The NTs who lie bully and psychologically abuse us are the deficits.
Brilliant video as usual. Thank you
another brilliant video!
Thank you 😊
Excellent! 💜💜💜
I sometimes wonder if ASD and ADHD type personality traits, which often co-occur in many people, might actually represent a much evolutionary older form of 'normal' in human behavior. If you think about it, in their higher functioning manifestations, these traits can be quite advantageous in the natural environment. The love of repetitive motion and routine (ASD) could have been harnessed for all sorts of adaptive technological things like spinning wool, grinding corn, gathering nuts and seeds, or making stone tools, whereas the ability to be hyperactive, quick and impulsive, and notice changes in finer details of the environment (i.e. distractions within ADHD) could have been clearly an asset in tracking and hunting. Only once cities and civilizations were built upon the backs of these hard-working and talented people, would the evolution of neurotypical traits and social politics become more useful. Has anyone out there ever seen any academic study of this idea? I would love to see a video exploring this possibility. BTW - I am a biologist by training, not a psychologist.
really really spot on video, for me that is brilliant definition and explanation and the link to the autistic collaboration is cool, just checking out site now... thank you for linking and sharing and, il be buying one of your nifty baseball shirts as thank you in green... nice :)
absolutely phenomenal
Great video my man😊😊😊
wonderful thank you
Yes I have GERD, IBS, Supuralstive hydrodentitis, a squint, OA , tendonitis. And prolapsed degenerative and S1,L4/5. And I’m a cauda equina risk, infection risk, fracture risk. But hey let’s suggest shelf filling. An actual autistic charity bullied me when I refused to repeatedly bend and pick up shower gels and put in the other side of the room), I did and was top student in unit environmental health and safety and hygiene and camp lay out I had a huge woman around 25 lecture me to bend my knees in a sarcastic tone. They were told I couldn’t lift and bend before I volunteered. They got told in melt down bit so politely where to go ssying she knew how to treat autistics cos her child was autistic . I said I’m 53 not your child . And I have a spinal disability. Then later the same foodbank was selling their donated food on the TGTG app and they tried to palm out of date food on me. Against environmental health protocols and during the pandemic too
as an #actuallyAutistic person, i think there are the three basic elements of autism: communication/interaction issues, sensory issues and repetitive thoughts and behavior. The latter is what really gets me. The others I can slide on by with some fairly minor adjustments. The last however, has ruined my life.
To me, its like every human is given a big 10,000 piece puzzle, at birth. Neurotypical people get a puzzle that has a picture on it with a variety of colors, shapes, patterns. True, it's a mixed upuzzle and it now must be assembled piece by piece to complete it (takes a lifetime), but with all the visual cues and a box lid with the finished picture on it, typically, assembling the neurotypical puzzle becomes easier with time and assembly.
To me, having autism is like getting a completely blue 10,000 piece puzzle, at birth, and every single piece is exactly the same color of blue. Not even a wisp of cloud to make some blue pieces different. Even the box picture is just one big blue picture, not a single clue as to how to assemble the blue puzzle. So, we non nurotypicals (females, at least) tend to look sideways at the neurotypical people doing their own colorful intetesting puzzles and we attempt to mimic their assembling. Yet, while observing others can help a little, it's not the answer. In time, some of us get more comfortable assembling our own blue puzzle, we don't mind that it's different. BUTwe then find out that our ability to master the blue puzzle is often greeted with hostility, disdain or indifference by the neurotypicals. And then that becomes the hardest part of living life assembling a blue puzzle. It's not so much we eushed we didn't get a blueuzzle, but that we notice "the others" have little to no empathy or respect for our achievement and successes while having a blue puzzle to assemble.
I'm 67, not yet formally diagnosed, yet, to me, "autisn" explains most everything, along with ADHD (I'm also graphme synethete, hyperphantasic, diagnosed CPTSD, head injury at 40....). Maybe because of the hyperphantasia, I recall and see things mostly in pictures and, one day when I was musing on the macros of autism, a big blue puzzle popped into my mind along with a 'normal' puzzle beside it and, well, it made sense to me that my puzzle was the blue one 😮
I think ending a lifetime of trying to assemble a blue puzzle, while surrounded by others assembling multi colored picture puzzles, has made me a super woman! After over 60 years of not understanding...now that I do better understand, I'm having the time of my life! I no longer mask, and wrong painful relationships are no longer in my life. And those who remain, while appreciating a better understanding of autism and me, don't love me less or more ❤
6 decades is a long time...but, today, I can honestly say I wouldn't change a thing. Yes, I have had MANY dark clouds in my life, as do all peoples, including the neurotypicals, but, Jesus was the only one who taught me how to get at least one silver lining from every single dark cloud! He went on tho teach me how to turn lemons into lemonade. I am of all souls most blessed.
Today, life just gets better and better. It is my wish and prayer all who were given a blue puzzle at birth come to realize why they got it and what it means to the Bible God.
I also think of life as a horse race and I (and perhaps you?), being made such strong and fast horse, was then given extra weight, extra handicaps, to prevent me from winning too many races while young, so that I'd be less 'cocky' in later years (thus, kinder and more empathetic) than my neurotypical counterparts. If all Truthers belong to Jesus and "all liars" belong to Satan, then perhaps our Creator has a special purpose for Non Nerotypicals? We do tend to be honest... to a fault, at times 😊
Thinking about the Dictionary definition of homosexuality. 'being attracted to the same sex' what if your sexual identity is not apparent just by the visual bias. I may be visual defined as male but very much feel more comfortable with a feminine disposition inside a male visually dominated body or vice versa. Society dictates our role and it should be us that dicate who we are and our role as it we who are comfortable or uncomfortable with and allow a degree of flexibility. Flexual, frexual.
I say autism is Apple versus Android two different processing chips thus when we run Android programmes on apple it causes problems with the apps😂😂❤❤.
🌟🖤🖤🖤🌟
I found it very interesting that it was mentioned in the video how society often sees people with autisim as being deficant in the qualites of humanity. This stuck out to me because i dont understand what is deficiant about being empathetic sensitive to emotions and honest. I dont understand because im not like most people in this worlf who lie, cheat steal and NEVER say what they actually mean. The truth seems to be that if you are the things i listed above you are have a disorder when im fact it is pur society that is disordered not us. The things that are valued by much of society are things like money, appearance, and popularity. Kindness, honesty and authenticity are not vauled and are often punishable qualities or behaviors. Thats pretty fucked up if you ask me.
What is autism? One hell of a drug!
Autism
I'm autistic, I like your channel, I certainly agree we're misunderstood--sometimes with malice--but I found this a tad whiney to be honest. BTW I have had seizures and had incontinence issues as a child so...
With all due respect and gratitude for your (probably best) videos on autism, you STILL didn't explain, WHAT EXACTLY AUTISM IS?
What is the core idea? Is that really such a taboo question? I now know what "monotropism" is, but "austim" still appears to be a term that doesn't refer to anything in particular.
Why invent such a meaningless word, apply it to yourself, and then complain about nobody understanding it?
7:19 I call what you’re doing here “accidental leftist bigotry”. There’s no reason to assume that gay people think or feel different from how you think and feel. Your attempt to be understanding is inadvertently marginalizing.
6:50 EMIC perspective as per anthropology