Some of us live in this awareness all year long. It's a time to remind the world about the need to stop and admire our varied loveliness....and consider our contributions to mankind.
I believe that they are just manipulating a world order by unleashing humanities evil while the real demands sit in a chair in some building as we all gather in beards so that they can keep track of who is who and then we become labeled and it would have been due to default if anything we shakily all come to a collective majority to choose our own day and celebrate in our own ways together collectively and forget the unions offer for the day that isn’t really for us or about us it’s because of us!!!! Let’s let’s all do it because of us and not let them claim our powers and make the world better like a divide and conquer strategically the right way for the right reasons and cause... I’m in:)
Thanks, Paul, for being the positive reassurance self-diagnosed individuals need when no one around them is equipped to go through the journey while they begin to understand their own masking, stimming, sensory thresholds, depression, anxiety, etc., throughout their entire lives. Having a hard time finding anyone who will take me seriously (counselors included).
@Batty B It's been a five-year-long educational journey for me exploring what it means to be ADHD and autistic, separately and together. Close friends tell me, "You're only acting more autistic," and its incredibly hard to turn around and expect them to understand, "I'm NOT acting. This is ME. I have been faking who I was before this realization because of the requirements of the social circumstances and environment we met, and am just now beginning to let myself trust and be comfortable around you." I wish people in my life were as accepting of me as I am of them, flaws and all. Then again, I am just starting to come forward and beginning to find there are people (while limited in their abilities to help) that will listen without judgement.
Hey Dylan, don't feel alone in any way in this journey. I am currently going through this process and its deeply damaging on a lot of levels. You win the lottery if you find a clinician that are compassionate, doesn't religiously refer to the DSM-5 and are keeping the finger on the pulse of the wider community. I have been told the usual "suffer from autistic traits but..." scenarios. In Glasgow I have been refused three times to even be seen by a clinician because it wasn't significant enough. They look for the most extreme cases and don't put in the legwork needed to expand upon the criteria from decades ago. I am now stuck in limbo between having a strong sense of truth and imposter syndrome but also being aware that they can't test my blood for this, it is their word against mine. Until the diagnostic criteria and ableist behavior of clinicians changes there will continue to be people like me who just weren't lucky enough to see the right person at the right time with the right amount of traits that check the boxes. Crazy thing with this is that this criteria was designed for me (boy), girls have an even more terrible time finding answers.
@@johnmilly1658 Wow, thank you for providing your experience. I decided to take time off from finishing my graduate studies to slow down and understand myself a bit better. One thing I remind newer colleagues of mine about imposter syndrome is that it is a term used to justify the work/school conditions are beyond what we consider normal. While the term is focused on "you," the individual, understand that no one would put up with the demands or stress supervisors place on us for "getting things done." I remind them that they already made it to this point, and that they are "good" enough. The next step is to take inventory of your future options and if this path is the one you truly want (and is worth your investment).
I love the infinity symbol whether multicoloured or sparkly gold (love the sparkles). I feel it represents our unlimited potential and is much better than a puzzle piece
Thank you for being so very well spoken, accepting and kind, Paul, these videos are like oxygen. In my 80's now and just unveiling daily my true nature to myself after all the years of silent suffering and loss. Bless you, Paul.
@@mydogeatspuke Pranks are a scary kind of social interaction. When does a prank go far enough, when does it go too far, what components make it funny and to whom? I'll keep my hands off that unless I'm _very_ sure there's no negative repercussions for anyone.
@@wolframstahl1263 but that is your choice that you have chosen to make for yourself. You aren't being forced to sit on the outside, you're deciding to. There is a very big difference.
Paul's smile is contagious; many times I've caught myself smiling back at him when he smiles at any point during his videos. Also, I love learning with Paul. I have a 4 y.o. nephew whom I haven't met yet. We think he is in the spectrum (access to professional help and diagnosis aren't easy to get back in my homeland, Venezuela). I want to be as well informed as possible for when I finally get to meet my adorable nephew.
It’s complicated for me. I don’t like it because I want it to be a year long focus instead a week long focus. But at the same time I do everything I can to contribute to this week for people to focus on it better
Everything your saying about taking the opportunity to teach others about our kind I do and have made it my life’s purpose to educate humanity through my trauma and stories of my life being and autistic female and being exploited for my innocence 🤓🤔😞😎
I only discovered you last week after my first serious suspicion that I may be autistic at the age 56. So thank you so so so much for making these videos. In such a very short time they have been tremendously helpful to me in understanding myself. I now have much more patience and empathy for myself. With much appreciation
I'm 65 and have been wondering if I'm autistic for the past couple of years. So many things, especially from my childhood, would make then make sense. But there was no spectrum when I was a girl, and supposedly only boys were autistic. No idea how to confirm my suspicions, though.
@@ctwofirst6635 what you wrote could absolutely be my story. I just turned 60, and found Paul‘s channel about six months ago. What he says has comforted me because it has helped me so much to maybe understand some thing of where I am coming, from where I have come from.
World Autism Day might be better. I think sometimes that the bias in literature towards informing parents and professionals can exclude the experience of adults with autism. For a long time Autism was treated as an enigma of parenthood and the tone of information was almost Zoological. I believe things are improving. I was diagnosed with A.S. and I wear an autism badge because my memory problems can cause me to be confused in the street. There is more awareness of Autism these days than of memory gaps and given that I can get mocked for my confusion I find a Autism badge has helped me to deflect the negative attentions of others. I think any public recognition of the positive contributions of autistic people now and throughout History leads to improvements in lifestyles in everyday contexts.
I didnt know confusion and memory problems were part of ASD, I struggle with the same issue, where I get confused halfway through my walk around the neighborhood. I also have adhd, it felt like I was going crazy, it was really unsettling. I hope you are doing well!
@@justjust8953 Hi. I have a dual dx of Asperger's Syndrome and A.D.D. but also an acute problem with my memory that is alleviated by the strong focus that my Asperger's Syndrome provides. It is as if one provides a kind of magnification that the other can use. I never quite understood what my specialist was explaining to me regarding my memory but the effect is quite amnesic sometimes. Without a strong focus I find numbers very hard to remember. I have a pronounced visual memory, which is how I graduated in Art, but I also write stories. It is the stories that are ruined by my poor memory and they rarely compose correctly. However the stories act as my safe space, so I am quite content when I am writing them. I can fully appreciate your 'fading' during walks. When the environment changes I don't feel secure. It is very difficult for me sometimes. Having meetings with strangers in places I don't know can be the worst situation of all, because my communication becomes very poor, from both the autism and my poor attention. Because I am sensitive to noise I wonder whether it is overloading information that makes my memory worse. I have edited my reply a few times because that is how I make writing coherent. With creative writing it is important to create atmosphere etc, but I find it hard to remember the story so far in detail, which is where things don't work out. A.D.D. and A.D.H.D. often come as a secondary diagnosis to autistic spectrum disorders. I hope that helps.
Hey, Paul! Great video. You know... I think that Autism Awareness Day is taken from us because when the world thinks of autism, they think either about kids or autistic people with a high need for support, in either case, individuals without agency. I'm currently doing some research about how autism is discussed upon in Argentinian media... and this is what I found so far. I think that it would be really really really good if we start massively talking about adults with aspergers, especially women.
I figure I'm probably in the minority here but speaking for myself, (late diagnosed, deep into discovery and recovery from a lifetime of trauma) I don't really want to draw that much attention to my condition. I don't talk about it with people. I expect no validation. There are precious few I have spoken with on the subject and only for specific reasons. There is no autistic community in my area to connect with and I feel it is unrealistic to expect typicals to appreciation my differences. At this stage I just want to better understand myself, heal from a lifetime of wounds and confusion, take greater advantage of my gifts, better manage my deficits and learn to better interact with others. That's a lot and at my age, time is running out.
I'm a special education teacher and read a lot about autism in textbooks but didn't realize I had it until I heard testimonies of adults who realized they had autism later in life.
Personally, I like it. It brings people together and is generally about positivity. I view the puzzle as meaning that although we seem different, we fit in the puzzle just like everyone else.
Thank you for using your voice to help our community 🖤 I think this video was objective and informative! You explain things well and are CLEARLY autistic ☺
To me it just seems like the neurotypical people are too arrogant to come up with this idea, talking about autism from above without actually seeing us. It would be so great that more people could really know what autism actually is and could understand and accept us
I wasn't aware of it even being on Facebook pages for ASD individuals. So I figure Autism awareness Day is for neurotypical parents suffering with autistic children.
I am so thankful to you for your insights and experience. Your videos are very well done and I have no doubt they are making a difference for neurotypicals and autistics alike! Has someone made a tshirt with the symbol you mentioned? I wanted to immediately go to the description box and see if there was anything like that. I never thought about the puzzle piece symbol like that but it makes so much sense and I would love to see that changed. I think you are right in saying “it is not helpful.”
That's not how that works. You just go ahead and be yourself, and if people like what they see and hear, they either accept you or they don't. Nobody is obliged to accept you just cuz you want that. :P
I love having autism and working with people who have autism. :) The symbol should be an iPad because even though some autistic people don't like puzzles most autistic people seem to like iPads. I like iPads. I bet you like iPads, too.
Thank you for your videos! Really informative, you are also a pleasure to listen to! Could you make a video giving tipps for parents of ab aspie child? How to help the child feel „normal“ etc.
When every day is special nothing is special. I don’t understand the “need” for people to celebrate a day for everything they can think of. Awareness is based in love. Therefore, we should love each other everyday. This concept that picking a day for everything is somehow helping anyone is frustrating and confusing to me.
Exactly! I was about to comment something like this but couldn't find the right words and then I found your comment. Thank you and greetings from The Netherlands 🙏👍
Hi Paul! I've recently discovered your videos and they've been really helpful - one piece of feedback I would give you is try improving your audio quality. I don't know what you use to record, but as far as I know you can get quite good audio quality with these small clip-on microphones and they're quite cheap, or just by recording the audio with a different device than your camera (for example a smartphone). Just something for you to consider - I will be watching regardless :)
Im just sick and tired of worrying about giving neurotypicals a bad impression towards autism for some people im the first Autistic person they have ever spoken to and feel i can't be myself and feel judged i just want to be accepted is that to much to ask tired of being a non official ambassador.
I personally dgaf what others think of me, as a rule of thumb (to put it bluntly), cuz one cannot please everybody. There's always gonna be someone who absolutely adores you, while somebody else absolutely hates you for whatever reason. Don't let that get to your head. People are like that and it's normal. Just be yourself. You don't have to be an ambassador for anyone or anything. Just try to get along with people and have a good time; by yourself or with people whom you trust. If someone finds you weird, well, try talking with them about that and see if you can clear up some of that fog. But don't get stuck on this whole "oh ma gawd I'm autistic" ... I'm autistic as well and you won't find me in autism groups anywhere. Why? I'm trying to get CLOSER to people, not farther away from them by isolating myself with ideas that push them and me further apart due to . We all are unique and learning to co-exist with others despite our differences is a skill - autism or not. :p
Why are you worried about giving a bad impression? Is your behaviour normally bad? Why are tired of doing a job nobody hired you for? Maybe your first step to overcoming your issues is to start being yourself.
Hi Paul, I’m Nathalie I wish to thank you for your video. Personally I believe that this initiative comes from the feeling of guilt, it’s a cure to clean their consciousness. Guilt that prevails in institutions and the EU governments, due their poor understanding and support to the autistic community. The major help/understanding come from the community itself. France is 50 years behind in autism treatment their notions are outdated. In Mexico the lack of information and exclusion is obvious. How would you like to obtain qualitative information if it doesn’t come from elder autistic people? That have experienced and analyse the pro and cons of the condition. Despite few brilliant minds, kind and bright but also experienced minds, all the information that I have attempt and helped me come from autistic/Asperger. The attitude is #autisticgold
I say... whatever, changed nothing as far as i am concerned, anyone can research of autism if anyone wishes so. Honestly, the way i see it is not really about anyone but the ones that thought it up, like a self pat in the back.
On my Twitter about helping adults find diagnosis resources I found that a lot of Autistic people dislike it a lot. The most especially important example I saw was someone saying it’s basically autism Bewareness and is based on curing it and not accepting anything.
I don't know i don't care about all these movement awareness bullshit. It's just a reason to talk about it for a couple days so people can feel good about it and act like they care and then we're forgotten once again.
"Hello, my name is Groot" I never heard it before now, Groot is Aussie! Oh, and I'm not at the point where I will say anything about AAD, it feels like I'd be painting a target on my forehead. (Edit: more clearly, I don't bring up autism to my friends. Only one friend knows, the rest will just use it to further isolate me. I didn't know anything about autism before I was diagnosed, I'm not sure any neuro-typical can understand much about it. My behavior bothers people, that's what they know, they are satisfied with themselves in knowing that. No need to stir the hornet's nest.
I would recommend looking at some of the latest videos by Socialist Think Tank, I did an interview with them myself this week. They are very much on our side and believe in asking us how it is for us as opposed to trying to talk over us.
@@beepbopboop3221 That's not a socialism problem, that's an authoritarianism problem. And the Nazis have never been socialists or Marxists - communists were one of the groups they killed. They just coopted the term to make them sound legit. They rejected Marxism and united people around racism.
@Night Owl They called it "National Socialism" because "fascism" sounds less appealing. There's a plant called "Vietnamese mint" but it's not a kind of mint - it's just a name. The Nazis killed Marxists. Look at their actions.
I can see each side to it, I will make the best of it, treat it as an opportunity, not let corporations try and do whatever the hell they do and won't be happy with it's history. Either I can make a change even if small or I can go unneffected with the same misconceptions as before. Happy Autism Acceptance day :)
I honestly had no idea that we had a World Autism Awareness Day. Personally I think that awareness days in general don't really help improve whatever they are dedicated to. I think they are a superficial way for the general population to pretend like they care. I think the greatest positive impacts for people with autism come from those who have devoted themselves to be ambassadors for autism (think Temple Grandin) or those who are experts, increasing our understanding of autism (like Tony Attwood).
It would be good if they actually did something to promote acceptance. I found when I learned I had Aspergers, there wasn't a lot of support or accommodation for adults anyway, and a lot of discrimination. It may have changed in the last few years, but it really put me off "admitting" for want of a better word, that I am on the spectrum, let alone being some sort of ambassador. People get called out for racism, sexism, and body shaming but to a lot of people Autism is fair game. My rant for the week.
The problem isn't the day. I expect when it was 'created' there were good intentions. But like everything which starts with good intentions, people (humans), with their opportunistic natures' tend to appropriate whatever they can get away with to advance their own agenda. We are a flawed species, the whole lot of us. We have to do the best we can, as individuals, to make life work for us. To quote a line from The Desiderata: "With all it's sham, drudgery and broken dreams, it's still a beautiful world, strive to be happy...." or something like that.
From the MBTI 16 personalities the INFJ sounds more like a person who is an aspergers bc I am and autistic woman who falls in the category under that specific type. That’s why we are only 1-2%of the worlds population
Honestly past caring. If anything it's gotten worse over the past year not better. You can't say a word about anything anymore... except for autism obviously. As such, it's become the go-to for taking the piss out of more than ever before. I get offensive humor can be funny so "it was a joke dude" is a plausible excuse for being an asshole. There is an issue at the moment where absolutely nobody can take a joke about anything so, you can roll with it a few times. That said, when your illness is the punchline for 90% of offensive jokes and absolutely nobody else is getting any stick then I don't think "it's only a joke" cuts it. It's made even worse when you decide to take that claim and say some stupid shit about LGBTQ+ or people with no legs and people (Usually the same halfwits that just slammed autism for a good 7 hours) start getting all upset... ohh but the other 500 jokes about autism were fine? I don't think it's doing any good at all actually, I think it's more a case masking society's guilty conscience. If anything, maybe if there wasn't a day to remind people we exist they'd forget completely, shut the fuck up about it and leave us to live in peace.
What does it matter, those that wish to be ignorant will stay so, those that would notice and investigate already have and everyone in between. Edit after the vid: Ah thanks for the clarification Paul, I agree it seems like virtue signalling by people that are promoting themselves without real representation.
I get your point but there’s also a few people that don’t know and gain insight from this. Maybe is not as many as one would hope but there’s definitely some that will. Also. It is because of people like Paul I was made aware of my own autism and many others have said so too. There might be someone else that with autism awareness day notices that he might be in the spectrum and that also is huge. There is value in awareness.
You know one thing I noticed from your videos...? You should know in advance that I don't mean anything by it, and it's just an observation. I'm not saying you should change or improve or whatever. Your videos tend to end abruptly. What I mean is, you're talking and explaining a few things, which are interesting, but, there really is no 'bridge' or 'final point' or 'transition', before the video ends. Everything you say makes sense and is perfectly fine and valid. But ultimately, to me it feels that you're in the middle of explaining something, and then you suddenly say it's the end of the video. I do wonder... Because I myself have been in doubt for years whether I'm on the spectrum or not, and I wonder, if me noticing this, actually means anything.
I find that autism infinite symbol so stupid. It doesn't mean anything other than "it's a spectrum so it's infinite i guess", which applies to literallt everything because everything is a spectrum
Please Vloggers dont pretend everyone in the U.S. has the same resources as autistic and disabled people in your country! I am sick of getting blamed for not having any support despite being DENIED by my government due to being diagnosed with a list of disabilities (some from birth) as an adult and not being able to keep a job long enough to pay enough into the system to qualify. Please clarify when you talk about resources that those are available in YOUR country! Thank you.
Thank you. Autism “acceptance” instead of “awareness” makes so much sense.
Some of us live in this awareness all year long. It's a time to remind the world about the need to stop and admire our varied loveliness....and consider our contributions to mankind.
I believe that they are just manipulating a world order by unleashing humanities evil while the real demands sit in a chair in some building as we all gather in beards so that they can keep track of who is who and then we become labeled and it would have been due to default if anything we shakily all come to a collective majority to choose our own day and celebrate in our own ways together collectively and forget the unions offer for the day that isn’t really for us or about us it’s because of us!!!!
Let’s let’s all do it because of us and not let them claim our powers and make the world better like a divide and conquer strategically the right way for the right reasons and cause... I’m in:)
The world needs all us Aspians,
Ameen...😎🙌🌹💯🔥🔥🔥
I’m proud of you for speaking out for the rest of us💜🙏🙌💯🌹
Thank you Paul and all the others who work hard for Autism acceptance and not just Autism awareness.
Hello Rick.. what clothing are you planning to wear next week?..
Don't need "help," but understanding. Help is usually offered by people who think they are better than you, so no thanks!
Totally agreed
Thanks, Paul, for being the positive reassurance self-diagnosed individuals need when no one around them is equipped to go through the journey while they begin to understand their own masking, stimming, sensory thresholds, depression, anxiety, etc., throughout their entire lives. Having a hard time finding anyone who will take me seriously (counselors included).
@Batty B It's been a five-year-long educational journey for me exploring what it means to be ADHD and autistic, separately and together. Close friends tell me, "You're only acting more autistic," and its incredibly hard to turn around and expect them to understand, "I'm NOT acting. This is ME. I have been faking who I was before this realization because of the requirements of the social circumstances and environment we met, and am just now beginning to let myself trust and be comfortable around you." I wish people in my life were as accepting of me as I am of them, flaws and all. Then again, I am just starting to come forward and beginning to find there are people (while limited in their abilities to help) that will listen without judgement.
@@MrDylanMcNasty I hear you!
Hey Dylan, don't feel alone in any way in this journey. I am currently going through this process and its deeply damaging on a lot of levels. You win the lottery if you find a clinician that are compassionate, doesn't religiously refer to the DSM-5 and are keeping the finger on the pulse of the wider community. I have been told the usual "suffer from autistic traits but..." scenarios. In Glasgow I have been refused three times to even be seen by a clinician because it wasn't significant enough. They look for the most extreme cases and don't put in the legwork needed to expand upon the criteria from decades ago. I am now stuck in limbo between having a strong sense of truth and imposter syndrome but also being aware that they can't test my blood for this, it is their word against mine. Until the diagnostic criteria and ableist behavior of clinicians changes there will continue to be people like me who just weren't lucky enough to see the right person at the right time with the right amount of traits that check the boxes. Crazy thing with this is that this criteria was designed for me (boy), girls have an even more terrible time finding answers.
@@johnmilly1658 Wow, thank you for providing your experience. I decided to take time off from finishing my graduate studies to slow down and understand myself a bit better. One thing I remind newer colleagues of mine about imposter syndrome is that it is a term used to justify the work/school conditions are beyond what we consider normal. While the term is focused on "you," the individual, understand that no one would put up with the demands or stress supervisors place on us for "getting things done." I remind them that they already made it to this point, and that they are "good" enough. The next step is to take inventory of your future options and if this path is the one you truly want (and is worth your investment).
I love the infinity symbol whether multicoloured or sparkly gold (love the sparkles). I feel it represents our unlimited potential and is much better than a puzzle piece
Thank you for being so very well spoken, accepting and kind, Paul, these videos are like oxygen. In my 80's now and just unveiling daily my true nature to myself after all the years of silent suffering and loss. Bless you, Paul.
Just imagine that it is first of April all year long and everyone participates but you. This is what it feels like.
Hear, hear! 😅
I guess when you put it that way it makes more sense...
but you can participate with April Fool's if you want to, nobody is stopping you. It has nothing to do with autism.
@@mydogeatspuke Pranks are a scary kind of social interaction. When does a prank go far enough, when does it go too far, what components make it funny and to whom?
I'll keep my hands off that unless I'm _very_ sure there's no negative repercussions for anyone.
@@wolframstahl1263 but that is your choice that you have chosen to make for yourself. You aren't being forced to sit on the outside, you're deciding to. There is a very big difference.
Paul's smile is contagious; many times I've caught myself smiling back at him when he smiles at any point during his videos.
Also, I love learning with Paul. I have a 4 y.o. nephew whom I haven't met yet. We think he is in the spectrum (access to professional help and diagnosis aren't easy to get back in my homeland, Venezuela). I want to be as well informed as possible for when I finally get to meet my adorable nephew.
It’s complicated for me. I don’t like it because I want it to be a year long focus instead a week long focus. But at the same time I do everything I can to contribute to this week for people to focus on it better
They call it "the invisible wheelchair".
Everything your saying about taking the opportunity to teach others about our kind I do and have made it my life’s purpose to educate humanity through my trauma and stories of my life being and autistic female and being exploited for my innocence 🤓🤔😞😎
I've spent the last 24 hours scanning the British press looking for just a mention of our day
I heard a piece on the Mike Graham TalkRadio show, late this morning. I was quite surprised. Lady on there came across really well
I only discovered you last week after my first serious suspicion that I may be autistic at the age 56. So thank you so so so much for making these videos. In such a very short time they have been tremendously helpful to me in understanding myself. I now have much more patience and empathy for myself. With much appreciation
I found out 3 years ago at the age of 60 so I understand. I too feel more comfortable in my own skin. Welcome to the community.
I'm 65 and have been wondering if I'm autistic for the past couple of years. So many things, especially from my childhood, would make then make sense. But there was no spectrum when I was a girl, and supposedly only boys were autistic. No idea how to confirm my suspicions, though.
@@ctwofirst6635 I went to a doctor who specialized in Autism and he asked me some pertinent questions and determined that I was autistic.
@@ctwofirst6635 what you wrote could absolutely be my story. I just turned 60, and found Paul‘s channel about six months ago. What he says has comforted me because it has helped me so much to maybe understand some thing of where I am coming, from where I have come from.
@@T.T.M.60 Did you just google to find a specialist? Considering getting a diagnosis myself.
World Autism Day might be better. I think sometimes that the bias in literature towards informing parents and professionals can exclude the experience of adults with autism. For a long time Autism was treated as an enigma of parenthood and the tone of information was almost Zoological. I believe things are improving. I was diagnosed with A.S. and I wear an autism badge because my memory problems can cause me to be confused in the street. There is more awareness of Autism these days than of memory gaps and given that I can get mocked for my confusion I find a Autism badge has helped me to deflect the negative attentions of others. I think any public recognition of the positive contributions of autistic people now and throughout History leads to improvements in lifestyles in everyday contexts.
I didnt know confusion and memory problems were part of ASD, I struggle with the same issue, where I get confused halfway through my walk around the neighborhood. I also have adhd, it felt like I was going crazy, it was really unsettling. I hope you are doing well!
@@justjust8953 Hi. I have a dual dx of Asperger's Syndrome and A.D.D. but also an acute problem with my memory that is alleviated by the strong focus that my Asperger's Syndrome provides. It is as if one provides a kind of magnification that the other can use. I never quite understood what my specialist was explaining to me regarding my memory but the effect is quite amnesic sometimes. Without a strong focus I find numbers very hard to remember. I have a pronounced visual memory, which is how I graduated in Art, but I also write stories. It is the stories that are ruined by my poor memory and they rarely compose correctly. However the stories act as my safe space, so I am quite content when I am writing them. I can fully appreciate your 'fading' during walks. When the environment changes I don't feel secure. It is very difficult for me sometimes. Having meetings with strangers in places I don't know can be the worst situation of all, because my communication becomes very poor, from both the autism and my poor attention. Because I am sensitive to noise I wonder whether it is overloading information that makes my memory worse. I have edited my reply a few times because that is how I make writing coherent. With creative writing it is important to create atmosphere etc, but I find it hard to remember the story so far in detail, which is where things don't work out. A.D.D. and A.D.H.D. often come as a secondary diagnosis to autistic spectrum disorders. I hope that helps.
Hey, Paul! Great video. You know... I think that Autism Awareness Day is taken from us because when the world thinks of autism, they think either about kids or autistic people with a high need for support, in either case, individuals without agency. I'm currently doing some research about how autism is discussed upon in Argentinian media... and this is what I found so far. I think that it would be really really really good if we start massively talking about adults with aspergers, especially women.
I had no clue... it’s on my birthday!!
Happy birthday! 🎁🎂🎈
You are awesome man, truly.
I figure I'm probably in the minority here but speaking for myself, (late diagnosed, deep into discovery and recovery from a lifetime of trauma) I don't really want to draw that much attention to my condition. I don't talk about it with people. I expect no validation. There are precious few I have spoken with on the subject and only for specific reasons. There is no autistic community in my area to connect with and I feel it is unrealistic to expect typicals to appreciation my differences. At this stage I just want to better understand myself, heal from a lifetime of wounds and confusion, take greater advantage of my gifts, better manage my deficits and learn to better interact with others. That's a lot and at my age, time is running out.
I'm a special education teacher and read a lot about autism in textbooks but didn't realize I had it until I heard testimonies of adults who realized they had autism later in life.
Personally, I like it. It brings people together and is generally about positivity. I view the puzzle as meaning that although we seem different, we fit in the puzzle just like everyone else.
Thank you for using your voice to help our community 🖤 I think this video was objective and informative! You explain things well and are CLEARLY autistic ☺
To me it just seems like the neurotypical people are too arrogant to come up with this idea, talking about autism from above without actually seeing us. It would be so great that more people could really know what autism actually is and could understand and accept us
I wasn't aware of it even being on Facebook pages for ASD individuals.
So I figure Autism awareness Day is for neurotypical parents suffering with autistic children.
SO helpful! Thank you much
Thank you for always making amazing, educational and positive videos!
perfect video thank you
I am so thankful to you for your insights and experience. Your videos are very well done and I have no doubt they are making a difference for neurotypicals and autistics alike! Has someone made a tshirt with the symbol you mentioned? I wanted to immediately go to the description box and see if there was anything like that. I never thought about the puzzle piece symbol like that but it makes so much sense and I would love to see that changed. I think you are right in saying “it is not helpful.”
I just want to be accepted as I am,
Same here buddy
That's not how that works. You just go ahead and be yourself, and if people like what they see and hear, they either accept you or they don't. Nobody is obliged to accept you just cuz you want that. :P
Thank you, Paul !
I love having autism and working with people who have autism. :) The symbol should be an iPad because even though some autistic people don't like puzzles most autistic people seem to like iPads. I like iPads. I bet you like iPads, too.
Thanks!
Thank you for your videos! Really informative, you are also a pleasure to listen to!
Could you make a video giving tipps for parents of ab aspie child? How to help the child feel „normal“ etc.
When every day is special nothing is special. I don’t understand the “need” for people to celebrate a day for everything they can think of. Awareness is based in love. Therefore, we should love each other everyday. This concept that picking a day for everything is somehow helping anyone is frustrating and confusing to me.
Exactly! I was about to comment something like this but couldn't find the right words and then I found your comment. Thank you and greetings from The Netherlands 🙏👍
I find it being on April fool's day hilarious. But not offensive/stupid like the puzzle pieces.
@@Peteyzee98 Well damn. Now it has nothing going for it, just like every awareness day or month.
As someone with high functioning autism, I’m neither for or against the day. People can do what they want.
Hi Paul! I've recently discovered your videos and they've been really helpful - one piece of feedback I would give you is try improving your audio quality. I don't know what you use to record, but as far as I know you can get quite good audio quality with these small clip-on microphones and they're quite cheap, or just by recording the audio with a different device than your camera (for example a smartphone). Just something for you to consider - I will be watching regardless :)
Im just sick and tired of worrying about giving neurotypicals a bad impression towards autism for some people im the first Autistic person they have ever spoken to and feel i can't be myself and feel judged i just want to be accepted is that to much to ask tired of being a non official ambassador.
thats so much responsibility to worry about, I wouldn't worry about it.
I personally dgaf what others think of me, as a rule of thumb (to put it bluntly), cuz one cannot please everybody. There's always gonna be someone who absolutely adores you, while somebody else absolutely hates you for whatever reason. Don't let that get to your head. People are like that and it's normal. Just be yourself. You don't have to be an ambassador for anyone or anything. Just try to get along with people and have a good time; by yourself or with people whom you trust. If someone finds you weird, well, try talking with them about that and see if you can clear up some of that fog. But don't get stuck on this whole "oh ma gawd I'm autistic" ... I'm autistic as well and you won't find me in autism groups anywhere. Why? I'm trying to get CLOSER to people, not farther away from them by isolating myself with ideas that push them and me further apart due to . We all are unique and learning to co-exist with others despite our differences is a skill - autism or not. :p
Why are you worried about giving a bad impression? Is your behaviour normally bad? Why are tired of doing a job nobody hired you for? Maybe your first step to overcoming your issues is to start being yourself.
Thank you, Paul! Little did you know on that day you cut off your dreadlocks that one day you would be helping so many people!
I thought it was tomorrow.
It's April 2. Today (in Australia) is April2.
Hi Paul, I’m Nathalie I wish to thank you for your video. Personally I believe that this initiative comes from the feeling of guilt, it’s a cure to clean their consciousness. Guilt that prevails in institutions and the EU governments, due their poor understanding and support to the autistic community. The major help/understanding come from the community itself. France is 50 years behind in autism treatment their notions are outdated. In Mexico the lack of information and exclusion is obvious. How would you like to obtain qualitative information if it doesn’t come from elder autistic people? That have experienced and analyse the pro and cons of the condition. Despite few brilliant minds, kind and bright but also experienced minds, all the information that I have attempt and helped me come from autistic/Asperger.
The attitude is #autisticgold
I spent my awareness day melting
I say... whatever, changed nothing as far as i am concerned, anyone can research of autism if anyone wishes so.
Honestly, the way i see it is not really about anyone but the ones that thought it up, like a self pat in the back.
On my Twitter about helping adults find diagnosis resources I found that a lot of Autistic people dislike it a lot. The most especially important example I saw was someone saying it’s basically autism Bewareness and is based on curing it and not accepting anything.
I don't know i don't care about all these movement awareness bullshit. It's just a reason to talk about it for a couple days so people can feel good about it and act like they care and then we're forgotten once again.
Cmon dude you gotta have hope
@@twicebaked3563 Don’t get your hopes up so you aren’t disappointed.
@@twicebaked3563 hope for what exactly?
"Hello, my name is Groot" I never heard it before now, Groot is Aussie! Oh, and I'm not at the point where I will say anything about AAD, it feels like I'd be painting a target on my forehead. (Edit: more clearly, I don't bring up autism to my friends. Only one friend knows, the rest will just use it to further isolate me. I didn't know anything about autism before I was diagnosed, I'm not sure any neuro-typical can understand much about it. My behavior bothers people, that's what they know, they are satisfied with themselves in knowing that. No need to stir the hornet's nest.
Don't light it up blue!
I would recommend looking at some of the latest videos by Socialist Think Tank, I did an interview with them myself this week. They are very much on our side and believe in asking us how it is for us as opposed to trying to talk over us.
@@beepbopboop3221 That's not a socialism problem, that's an authoritarianism problem.
And the Nazis have never been socialists or Marxists - communists were one of the groups they killed. They just coopted the term to make them sound legit. They rejected Marxism and united people around racism.
@Night Owl They called it "National Socialism" because "fascism" sounds less appealing. There's a plant called "Vietnamese mint" but it's not a kind of mint - it's just a name. The Nazis killed Marxists. Look at their actions.
@@beepbopboop3221 thank you for pointing this out.
I call for it to be named World Autism Acceptance Day.
Started watching Atypical yesterday and before I knew it I was halfway through Season 2. What do others think of it?
not that good... not realistic...
I couldn't personally relate, but it seems well-made.
So I’ve been undiagnosed and I’m caught in trying to convince my family this is impossible
I can see each side to it, I will make the best of it, treat it as an opportunity, not let corporations try and do whatever the hell they do and won't be happy with it's history. Either I can make a change even if small or I can go unneffected with the same misconceptions as before. Happy Autism Acceptance day :)
Happy birthday me 🎉🎉🎉
I like the puzzle. Not for the symbol, I just think it looks neat.
A day when people who are aware of autism celebrate that they are aware.
Could we do an interview discussing autism since i was diagnosed at 12 and i thought it would be interesting to share similarities and differences?
I was not even aware! :D
Hey Paul hope you are well
Would love you to do a video on Sia's movie :)
WHEN exactly is this day??? 1 April??
I honestly had no idea that we had a World Autism Awareness Day. Personally I think that awareness days in general don't really help improve whatever they are dedicated to. I think they are a superficial way for the general population to pretend like they care. I think the greatest positive impacts for people with autism come from those who have devoted themselves to be ambassadors for autism (think Temple Grandin) or those who are experts, increasing our understanding of autism (like Tony Attwood).
Question for all in comments Do you like the puzzle piece? I do but maybe it's because I love puzzles lol
It would be good if they actually did something to promote acceptance. I found when I learned I had Aspergers, there wasn't a lot of support or accommodation for adults anyway, and a lot of discrimination. It may have changed in the last few years, but it really put me off "admitting" for want of a better word, that I am on the spectrum, let alone being some sort of ambassador. People get called out for racism, sexism, and body shaming but to a lot of people Autism is fair game. My rant for the week.
The problem isn't the day. I expect when it was 'created' there were good intentions. But like everything which starts with good intentions, people (humans), with their opportunistic natures' tend to appropriate whatever they can get away with to advance their own agenda. We are a flawed species, the whole lot of us. We have to do the best we can, as individuals, to make life work for us. To quote a line from The Desiderata: "With all it's sham, drudgery and broken dreams, it's still a beautiful world, strive to be happy...." or something like that.
But don't most of us feel like the odd one out among other people with AS or is it only me?
He reminds me of JD from Scrubs
i got drunk AF to celebrate
It is birth, fathers, mothers and childrens day, every day.
why did they choose 'April fools day" ?
I like that there is an Autism Awareness Day but I don't like that it's on April 1st. Seems like they're making a joke of it.
Acceptance not awareness.
I thought it was a thing in the U.S. then a thing in the U.N.
From the MBTI 16 personalities the INFJ sounds more like a person who is an aspergers bc I am and autistic woman who falls in the category under that specific type. That’s why we are only 1-2%of the worlds population
i feel the same here
Im an INTJ! I feel it describes it pretty well
INTJ Aspie Female over here too!
I propose World NT Awareness Day...
Honestly past caring. If anything it's gotten worse over the past year not better. You can't say a word about anything anymore... except for autism obviously. As such, it's become the go-to for taking the piss out of more than ever before. I get offensive humor can be funny so "it was a joke dude" is a plausible excuse for being an asshole. There is an issue at the moment where absolutely nobody can take a joke about anything so, you can roll with it a few times. That said, when your illness is the punchline for 90% of offensive jokes and absolutely nobody else is getting any stick then I don't think "it's only a joke" cuts it. It's made even worse when you decide to take that claim and say some stupid shit about LGBTQ+ or people with no legs and people (Usually the same halfwits that just slammed autism for a good 7 hours) start getting all upset... ohh but the other 500 jokes about autism were fine? I don't think it's doing any good at all actually, I think it's more a case masking society's guilty conscience. If anything, maybe if there wasn't a day to remind people we exist they'd forget completely, shut the fuck up about it and leave us to live in peace.
April Fools! World Autism awareness day is actually April 2nd!
He's in Australia, it is the 2nd
He's in Australia - it is April 2nd there now.
April Fool! It IS April 2!
@@mr.blonde7812 Ah yes! lol I figured something like that. But it was still a joke on me today. ha.
Autistic awareness day falls on April fools day in the states... little bitter 😑
No, it's on April 2nd. Many in the autism community are calling April 1st Autism Acceptance Day to focus on acceptance rather than awareness.
@@kristipalmer6803 ahh thank you for clearing that up for me , not going to lie I was a little miffed 🤣🤣🤣
You're welcome. Yeah, it wouldn't be cool if they'd chosen the first.
What does it matter, those that wish to be ignorant will stay so, those that would notice and investigate already have and everyone in between.
Edit after the vid:
Ah thanks for the clarification Paul, I agree it seems like virtue signalling by people that are promoting themselves without real representation.
I get your point but there’s also a few people that don’t know and gain insight from this. Maybe is not as many as one would hope but there’s definitely some that will.
Also. It is because of people like Paul I was made aware of my own autism and many others have said so too. There might be someone else that with autism awareness day notices that he might be in the spectrum and that also is huge.
There is value in awareness.
I realized I’m autistic from chancing upon videos on here. Rather than recruiting its more like a hand reached out imo.
I learnt I was autistic from Paul, Tony Attwood, Ted talks and others
Just leave me alone... Stop twisting me in all directions...
You know one thing I noticed from your videos...? You should know in advance that I don't mean anything by it, and it's just an observation. I'm not saying you should change or improve or whatever.
Your videos tend to end abruptly. What I mean is, you're talking and explaining a few things, which are interesting, but, there really is no 'bridge' or 'final point' or 'transition', before the video ends. Everything you say makes sense and is perfectly fine and valid. But ultimately, to me it feels that you're in the middle of explaining something, and then you suddenly say it's the end of the video.
I do wonder... Because I myself have been in doubt for years whether I'm on the spectrum or not, and I wonder, if me noticing this, actually means anything.
I find that autism infinite symbol so stupid. It doesn't mean anything other than "it's a spectrum so it's infinite i guess", which applies to literallt everything because everything is a spectrum
So it turns out the day I became aware of my autism happened to be autism awareness day
Neat
It's the month of money milking and gaslighting
I’m actually highly sensitive to blue lights so i don’t appreciate the sentiment at all…
Please Vloggers dont pretend everyone in the U.S. has the same resources as autistic and disabled people in your country! I am sick of getting blamed for not having any support despite being DENIED by my government due to being diagnosed with a list of disabilities (some from birth) as an adult and not being able to keep a job long enough to pay enough into the system to qualify. Please clarify when you talk about resources that those are available in YOUR country! Thank you.
Corny