Autism: An evolutionary perspective, Professor Simon Baron-Cohen, 1st Symposium of EPSIG, 2016

First Symposium of the Evolutionary Psychiatry Special Interest Group of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, Oct 4th 2016 in London.
Lecture by Professor Simon Baron-Cohen from Cambridge University Autism Research Centre.
Presentation available here:
www.rcpsych.ac.uk/pdf/EPSIG%20...
All interested international professionals and students can become members of EPSIG, for free, via the EPSIG website: www.rcpsych.ac.uk/members/spe...
Find upcoming events, an archive of newsletters and information on EPSIG on the website: www.rcpsych.ac.uk/members/spe...

[@spencerfraye1780]

'Lack of empathy' is such a poor way of framing it. Just because we have difficulty recognizing & defining the emotions of others doesn't mean we don't care!

[@bubblewrapfred]

I experience so much empathy that I sometimes shut off emotionally (or completely!) because it’s just too intense

[@jeremyhannah58]

@@bubblewrapfred Relatable. I would never be able to put it into words the way you do!

[@NOT_SURE..]

@@bubblewrapfred i was just about to say that .

[@alliwishis2652]

There are vids out there that talk about Asperger's in people who are capable of feelings for others I don't know why these people don't know about it but it is out there

[@rexmann1984]

He should have phrased it "apparent lack of Empathy." Just because others don't see don't mean you're not feeling it.

[@gingeyqueen]

People with autism do experience empathy. I'm autistic and I am a HSP. I feel everything all the time. It's very overwhelming.

[@brnne]

same

[@DanS8204]

In my mind, having a high level of intuitive or emotional empathy, being highly sensitive, and having a wider "aperture" for experiencing perceptions, emotions, and relationships might all be seen as being on a continuum. Those who are incredibly empathetic, highly sensitive, and very perceptive can still definitely be neurodiverse, and such people are much needed in this world.

[@MaryKDayPetrano]

Right, but the double empathy problem you're referring to actually goes to the different versions of language Autistics use versus that which Neurotypicals use. I read one language BDU study that even raised the question - 'well, we might have to recognize that Autistic people and Neurotypical people are actually speaking two different languages ?' So, that is a valid issue and not just one I have personally encountered from my lived Autistic experience. If the different language issue were not true, I don't think there would be this recognized double empathy problem. But, the double empathy problem DOES exist. Neurotypical people can't emphathisize with Autistic people. They have perceptions instead of raw sensory data, so therefore their "common sense" is not the same as Autistic "common sense" and their "lived experience" is not the same as an Autistic person's "lived experience." Autistic and Neurotypical people don't experience the World the same way. so, we don't have the same experience of "reality;" Autistic reality is raw sensory data-experienced whereas Neurotypical "reality" is filtered by their past knowledge and motivations into a "perception." Unfiltered raw sensory and filtered "perceptions" are not the same thing. Of course Neurotypicals have an empathy deficit when it comes to an Autistic person - they can't put themselves in our shoes. It's biologically-neurologically impossible. Really, it's an impasse.

[@stellameii]

no you can't say it like that. There are several different types of autism, for example Asperger's is severely different than high-functioning.

[@asylemkat3109]

​​​@@stellameiiAspergers isn't a thing anymore... Hans Asperger was a Nazi... Those diagnosed in the past with Asperger's would now be identified as having Level 1 ASD (requiring minimal support)... It's actually the exact same thing as high functioning... There aren't different types... Autism is a spectrum... There are different levels depending on how much outside help you need... Think of it like a giant buffet called autism... My plate has this, this and that while someone else's plate might have a bunch of completely different things... It's all autism... It just presents itself differently...

[@Smyrna37]

In my experience and as a Autistic woman, with 3 Autistic boys. We have more empathy than neurological people and often end up partnered with narcissistic people, romantically and or friendships. Especially because we struggle to pick up on obvious social cues, all the whilst believing we are reading the room correctly. And those that avoid narcs tend to get burned in the school system and the sensory overload of it all, with a seamingly low pay off for efforts. Once the pattern is recognised tho, alot of Autistic people then realize that its more peaceful to isolate to a certain degree. Once burned, twice shy as they say...

[@bellakrinkle9381]

I think narcissists have radar to pick up our vulnerability. And autistics are eager to be accepted/liked/loved....take your pick. It's impossible for me to understand why primary and secondary schools do not teach basic skills to identify narcissists, since they become more prevalent each year as incomes and computer social networking expands.

[@Olfan]

Small side note: if an adult patient in diagnosis asks to leave their parents out of the process because they won't be of much help, by all means please do humour them. My own diagnosis had been held off for several decades because every time I made an attempt to get what I knew to be true written and stamped on a certificate so I'd qualify for getting help/meds/therapy, the doc insisted that parental input be very important and proceeded to allow them to ruin the diagnosis. "No, my son isn't crazy, he isn't an autist, there never were any problems. I have a perfectly normal son, nothing wrong with him!" Especially among the elderly you're going to find many parents who view having an autistic child, especially one that wasn't diagnosed during childhood, as an accusation of bad parenting, one so strong that they have to deflect it, even to the detriment of the child.

[@innocentnemesis3519]

Thank goodness my assessors didn’t put much weight in what my parents had to say. As someone with a lot of pathological demand avoidance traits, they will agree I was “different” (when they really mean “difficult”), but won’t admit that I was scapegoated for being autistic.

[@venusrain4198]

Your comment only confirms for me that autism is a scapegoat label/diagnosis for trauma inflicted on society by our toxic culture, medical system (the way we birth babies) then the abusive and neglectful caregivers we are raised by including school teachers, sports coaches etc. your parents were just narcissistic. The autism diagnosis is a complete sham. The brain is neuroplastic. The wiring can be changed, but NOT through disempowering diagnosis, labels and meds that do nothing for the individual and everything for big Pharma

[@George-qr1mf]

🙌

[@eh1702]

And what if the only parent you have is someone who literally can’t remember your name half the time? Siblings are only able to provide a perspective if they are significantly older, at least a decade, and if they are able to separate the “family story” in their retrospective adult’s-eye view from what they actually saw and heard. The problem with my generation is that many of us at a young age were labelled the bad kid, disobedient, bad tempered, antisocial standoffish or self-centered: parents can find it impossible to let go of, they cannot adjust a view so ingrained. And other siblings simply grew up with this “biography” of you already constructed for them.

[@MaryHernandez-lq8kq]

Probably because they see how these doctors were seeing it incorrectly. I love the Dr Grandin Temple's perspective

[@rick3747]

Hyper-empathy. We are blessed/cursed with this.

[@jumpingjellyfishy]

Hyper-empathy for sure. I would say the reason his stats show that autistics have low empathy is because many autistics might need to tone their empathy down in order to cope with life, or are unable to express their empathy due to the awkwardness of social situations. Not sure what the age group was for the stats.

[@Aiken47]

@@jumpingjellyfishy we don’t know how they’re measuring, this straight after the fish climbing a tree analogy.

[@dragonflysagatiaej4833]

We FEEL it, get overwhelmed by it and then suck at expressing it.

[@neosmith8933]

@@dragonflysagatiaej4833 That was what I had to sort out after taking the Cambridge test.

[@christinapeterson7142]

"I have suffered from hyper rejection dysphoria for years" and PTSD ADHD brain ~ pushing 30 🌈 highly empathetic *♡ and yes I love my animal friends & pets more then I like some ppl at time's and that's cool too familys come in all shapes and sizes 🥰 "we need more HSP ppl 🕊 everyone of them are different in their own way 🌌🎊🎄🦄 ☮Blessed be 🎊and happy Christmas everybody🎄😊👍" .

[@angryherbalgerbil]

People with autism feel emotions and read a room more deeply than you'll ever understand. It's in the expression of them and how to handle the intensity of them where we struggle. Autism = hypersensitivity, does that sound like we're unfeeling robots?

[@adrianopper9472]

This is so very true. The room reading is part of the amygdala functioning to prep us for danger. It's why the crowds are so hard!

[@ZeonGenesis]

This is accurate for me as well, but I don't think it goes for everyone on the spectrum. I think autism is an individual mixture of either hypo-sensitivity or hyper-sensitivity. I just think those autists who have trouble picking up on people's emotions and social cues have raised more attention than those of us who are overwhelmed by them, because it has given us a stronger ability to mask and blend in, ergo they've come to represent autism more so than those of us who pick up on everything. The understanding of autism is continuously developing, and we're still a long ways from grasping the whole scope of it, is what I think.

[@vaporainwaves]

Some say that he still holds that cup till this day.

[@JONNYSORENSEN_AU]

The Science of Cupinetics!

[@eilzmo]

I’m not even 10 minutes in to this video and I have to stop cause I can’t deal with him holding that damned cup 🤣

[@world_still_spins]

Well some people have to stim by holding a weight or some object.

[@HeatherWorkmanRios]

I am autistic and LOVE patterns and repetition. I'm also a weaver, and can't help but think that long ago when we were still hunters and gatherers (which was a much larger period of time in human evolution than agricultural societies) that the "skilled" craftspeople probably tended to be those with some form of autism. Things like weaving, making flints, bows and arrows, pottery etc. all require intense periods of focus for long hours and most of all the repetition. Most people don't have the patience for these types of tasks and would rather be with the rest of the group socializing, hunting etc. So if each little group had a few people who were very skilled at things like weaving, it would makes sense that this ability to focus and less need of socializing became a trait that stayed in our genome and has stayed with us.

[@Daimo83]

In a hunter gatherer society you had to be an expert at every kind of technology (fire, clothing, weapons, medicine etc) and I suspect the cost of that is poor communication.

[@ahalpert]

Yes, very much agree. This researcher made the connection between scientists and autism, but failed to recognize that the first scientists were those developing paleolithic technologies. A gentleman in the audience, I think the child psychologist, made our point though.

[@sciencetroll6304]

Yes, Heather, we brought them down from the trees and to here.

[@knockhello2604]

@@sciencetroll6304 what

[@jumpingjellyfishy]

Not sure there would have been much time for socialising back then with so much to do. Wondering, have the percentages of those with autistic traits and those without changed through time? How do we know that early civilisations (and not necessarily more primitive ones) did not have autistic people as being the dominant 'typical'. As tech changed it would also have changed the demands of gains from focus and invention to gains through social interaction. I'm not really up on genetics, but would not surprised. Those Sumerians look awfully autistic to me.

[@moondogmcblackfoot]

I’m an Aspie... people been fkn with my perfect universe since day 1.

[@elizabethbennet4791]

i hear you brother

[@sciencetroll6304]

Hi Moon Dog. Moondog was my username in a music forum, then I changed it to Moonbat. And yes, from day 1 for me too.

[@moondogmcblackfoot]

Science Troll oh yea? Cool man.. my KZbin name was Fire WolfBiter McWildiron but I shortened it a bit.. I’m always adding to my name as it reflects evolutionary aspects regarding who I am as a person as I mature in life. But yea man.. lol.. the struggle is real.

[@moondogmcblackfoot]

William Oarlock yes.. humans aren’t lacking in flaws that’s for sure.

[@rick3747]

I hear you brother!

[@anna-lisagirling7424]

Microsoft, the company, at least on the main campus in Redmond, WA, has an entire separate suite for people with autism/Asperger's that is literally designed differently (providing for low noise distractions, privacy, etc.) because the company and beyond that, the field of competing science, really can utilize the special gifts of those whose brains are structured in this way. Their groups make huge contributions to the R &D side of the company's endeavors.

[@JustHowItIs]

That's awesome. I should go work for them, then, then, as a programmer.

[@J-IFWBR]

Empowerment of women gave hugh advantages to the wealth of nations. Empowerment of autistic People could be the next big thing.

[@KeeperOfKeys22]

That sounds like a haven~

[@user-qn3ox9in1k]

You mean they have a space that respects people's rights. Privacy is protected by the 4th Amendment. The Founding Fathers must have been Autistic. No wonder no one gives a damn about The US Constitution.

[@zenawalters]

Waiting for the rest of the world to get on board that train! Maybe we could start with the schools!

[@gothicwestern]

Being aspie I really wish these vids would start with the lecture and not with the preamble!

[@stoltobot]

😂

[@biteme109]

Also I’m hearing him making a weird sound when he says the letter s …. And it hurts to hear

[@LUCKY.SPIRIT]

I super hate any introduction that lasts longer than 10 seconds

[@bellakrinkle9381]

Skip ahead! Use that aspie mind of yours.

[@MsLhuntMartinez79]

I believe Im awake at night not only to avoid socializing but it cuts down on the amount of natural light (the dreaded sun lol) and noise I have to deal with. Not sure if anyone else feels the same.

[@velvetindigonight]

When 'out of balance' I stay at home and keep the curtains closed and go out at night when I feel balanced the day is fine! Try the keto diet it really helps. To me alchohol, sugar and wheat are poison along with high sugar fruits. When I od on these I go nocturnal!

[@knockhello2604]

@@velvetindigonight like can't sleep

[@velvetindigonight]

@@knockhello2604 I loose control of mind and emotions and cannot behave in a way that I wish to and yes I have trouble sleeping. ...... an hour here an hour there, three hours never eight hours straight..............

[@mariantea9225]

Absolutely, being nocturnal is having the world to oneself.

[@MsLhuntMartinez79]

@@mariantea9225 "Being nocturnal means having the world to yourself". I love that! Is this yours? Sounds poetic

[@ssartre5240]

People with Asperger suffer a great deal of anxiety all their lives. Worried about the pass and future and not being able to express their feeling is exhausting. Loneliness is the only safe place to be. Just think why asperger people feel depress ... Man has gone to the moon and medicine still don't figure out how the brain works.

[@catalepticdru]

I've been on anti-anxiety meds for years. So yes, I completely agree with this!

[@tomsale5142]

Do you have any physical symptoms ? Which was best medication?

[@sparkythancztwise]

Omg, he said, "finding them very confusing". Uh, no. It's he and others who find us very confusing. We are more repelled than confused. We see what's going on and it's shocking and horrifying. We choose to not participate in what is dysfunctional. When we are forced to in order to survive it takes a savage toll.

[@christinas.3461]

Maile Dusnthinkso said it perfectly

[@lauraholmes9353]

This was beautiful and very true to myself too. Well written.

[@iahelcathartesaura3887]

Maile Dusnthinkso Yes! He is projecting... most people see from their own inner perspective only, when all they need do is ASK US.

[@virginiamoss7045]

We on the spectrum find neurotypicals confusing while they find us confusing. It's both ways. Kind of like men versus women, you know, "Men are from Mars and Women are from Venus". However, I get that it is most often neurotypicals accusing those on the spectrum of being the problem and never the other way around. That's what angers me. We are different, not damaged, and possibly far better than neurotypicals; there are just so many more of them.

[@cloudman1006]

Virginia Moss we could however be damaged from the way Nts treat us.

[@t2-scoops436]

My two year old son has just being diagnosed with Autism and as a first time father found this very difficult to accept and understand, this lecture has helped to reach a better understanding and appreciate my son is not “Broken” he is just different, thank you 🙏🏻

[@nondisclosure2848]

You vaccinated, 48 vaccines by two? Hib B and vitamin k at birth?

[@t2-scoops436]

Not sure what you mean. Autism runs in the family though.

[@gillb9222]

Listen to other Sinon Baron Cohen videos. Your son has a far more connected frontal cortex and a more develooed amygdala. Be proud that your son has a more developed brain than NT people. You and your partner created a child with a more developed brain, be proud of that

[@dplj4428]

Father, please seek out April Grandin's speeches and books. She knows it firsthand and as a scientist and educator. -- No child equals another. No science knows it all. Don't panic or let conspiracy theories infect the love your family. Be kind you and yours. Being diagnosed is not determinant of your child. As you would with any child or any person you encounter, let them reveal: don't insist that they fit into a box. -- Every first-time parent and with each subsequent child is blessed with observing a new life flowering, a garden of varieties.

[@gonzaloquinolarico2859]

well your son is indeed impair in multiprocessing you can just test on actions that require control on different cognitive actions at the same time like dancing or any other complex action that for you couldn't be too hard Beacuse for dancing you need to follow the rhythm, move multiple parts of your body In a coordinate manner also keep consciousness in your body In space, etc and your son will fail sadly but well for one thing really simple specially like IT he can use his reduced ability in do one thing will be slower but what else he can do wait for a cure at least.

[@MissShembre]

This group of people makes me feel at home. So calm, very polite, curious about the brain.

[@Hyzentley]

I don't know if you are autistic or just someone who appreciates these traits, but something interesting about that: These groups work best among themselves. Neurotypicals understand and work together much better with other neurotypicals, autistics work the best among themselves (they don't even have most of the social problems anymore then because its mostly a difference in communication style. There were studies about that. Now, these studies were mostly about working with each other, but I wonder if this includes liking/sympathy too, if autistics tend to find other autistic people more likeable, and if this is also one of the reasons for why neurotypicals tend to brutally bully autistic people so very often.

[@yoya4766]

Autistic spectrum overlaps many other traits. This is just another way to label people and make money. Extreme autism is one thing, but trying to widen the net to include ever more people, is capitalism not neurological.

[@michaelfordsham2715]

@@yoya4766 how can you make money from it

[@Ryan-ju3fl]

@@michaelfordsham2715 the more people you diagnose with something the more people you can sell meds to for it

[@michaelfordsham2715]

@@Ryan-ju3fl there isnt really a medication for autism but nice try tankie

[@gmouse1250]

We have empathy, we just relate to people in different ways

[@gmouse1250]

@Tony Tran I hope your day blossoms with peace

[@coloringwithd]

I am what I call hyper-empathetic. I feel another's pain, I used to work in ICU as a secretary, my office was right next to patient rooms. I would cry in my office when I knew a patient was crashing and the family was crying. It was a struggle to go to work every day but I put on my fake me and worked.

[@worryworm]

I usually have a delayed emotional reaction, but I feel very deeply. I rarely cry, because I've taught myself not to (because of bullying). But there is a persistent myth that people on the spectrum doesn't feel nor empathises with others.

[@ulriklange3924]

Why not Work in a place that makes you happy??? .. thats very ilogical.

[@ulriklange3924]

@KEPLER ofcourse. But with this, on a CV/jobaplication. Getting a different job. Whould be easy ....... I think it more likely, she stayed. Out of a disire to help other people... Atleast, i hope that is it 😊

[@ozzy7109]

I'm a strong empath as well

[@MelissaThompson432]

@William Oarlock ...says the sociopath. As long as we're throwing pseudodiagnoses around.

[@martincamden9949]

Our empathy is so good, we know when our mother hates us !! We know what the truth is but we don't want it to be true or we look for ways of keeping toxicity away from us even though this methodology backfires !!

[@JustCallMeLiberty]

Hugs Martin!

[@audhdcreativity5899]

I love your cat, Martin ♡

[@NOT_SURE..]

my mother is just about to find out how much i hate her as well. Im going to enjoy every single minute , then im going to move onto my sister

[@OperationDarkside]

@@NOT_SURE.. Any updates on how it went? You don't have to answer though.

[@NOT_SURE..]

@@OperationDarkside Its all gone a bit wrong for me , i never got the opportunity to say ' just go away and leave me alone you pathetic people' as i was hospitalised with cancer in april. BUT at least they have stopped belittling me and critisizing everything i do or say. I will probably (hopefully ) be dead by christmas and im happy with that

[@kukalakana]

"It's about the dose of social interaction a person needs." Yes, yes. So much yes. I hate excess socialising. But doesn't mean I'm not happy to hang out on zoom with a bunch of people. ...Probably about half of whom are every bit as autistic as me. There's a good analogy with introverts and extroverts, where the main difference is how you recharge your batteries by being alone, or by being with people. We all have different levels of interaction or alone time we can stand. As a side note, people with very high empathy can be at risk of being taken advantage of by narcissists and predators.

[@anthonygarcia6229]

Growing up with Asperger's, it was difficult to read subtle social ques, not obvious ones but as I got older I started applying that pattern recognition skill to social interactions, so I've gotten a lot better at it. Simply put, I made Social interactions into math equations lol

[@adrianadrianoaimbot8178]

Can you give one example?

[@anthonygarcia6229]

@@adrianadrianoaimbot8178 The simplest example I can think of is realizing obvious social cues like frustrated looks or yawning were preceded by the less obvious ones. So I started LOOKING for subtler ques during social interactions like shoulder adjustments, looking away, ect. Best way to describe it is making conversation an "effort" that I had to pay attention to and had to figure out in my brain... almost like a math equation. This reaction + that reaction will lead to this reaction. It's hard to explain, and took a lot of trial and error, but I hope that was what you were looking for.

[@adrianadrianoaimbot8178]

@@anthonygarcia6229 thanks. I think I understand. That’s how I trained as a therapist, to look for subtle cues in verbal and non verbal behavior in the client, how it is related to certain topics etc.

[@zeitghost1321]

Me too. I studied human behavior like I was Jane Goodall 😆

[@Nathan-eq3zs]

@@zeitghost1321 🙉

[@mariejackson325]

Excellent presentation. I want my 18 year old nephew, who is high functioning autism, to see this. I once told him that it may turn out he is a step forward in human evolution. I didn’t want him to ever think that there was so wrong with him. His behavior today is much more teenager than autistic.

[@jenwalsh4195]

My young son is also high functioning. He proudly tells his mates that his autism is his super power. And he is right. He is much smarter than me and is only 6.

[@jamesespinosa690]

If you want to make your Nephew feel better. Tell him that Autism is actually just normal masculine behaviour. Behaviours that man hating feminists have been stomping down on for over a century now. Men are naturally more logical and less open. He very likely isn't autistic if he is "high functioning". He's normal.

[@fighttheevilrobots3417]

​@@jamesespinosa690you are just a misogynist

[@gonzaloquinolarico2859]

None ability or super power is due to autism is more like an adaptation of the brain due to development problems so yeah they can focus a lot in one thing that's true but have you stopped to think why, what if their brain would be limited in the conscious use of different parts and struggle integrating them like socializing, dancing, cleaning etc so basically all activities that require movement thinking organizing language posture etc at the same time then activities that require a lot of focus like tech just make them go completely unaware of their environment and lose in there now for memory problems that's why they organize in patterns or sistemazing just to make their brains process All information at once and not save a lot In memory because it's impaired specially shot or working memory for long term seems not to be that impaired but anyways they has problems too Just a misconception on a disability they will be slower because of that monoprocessing instead integrating multiple activities in parallel Sadness but at least people tend to lie them so they don't suicide 🎉🎉

[@mandalamia]

I think we need more research on empathy in autistic females. As an undiagnosed but evidently neurodivergent woman in her late thirties, I can attest to having high awareness of other people’s psychological makeup but, more often than not, nowadays, choosing to disengage socially out of self-respect. In my teens and twenties I would contort myself in order to maintain some level of relevance in several circles of friends. I was on the periphery of all those circles, but at least I had some type of social safety net, however flimsy...Point being, when I was more concerned with surviving than becoming an authentic person, I was more “empathetic.”

[@genderrebeljo3051]

Totally agree!! I have found Sarah Hendrickx talks to be very insightful. She specifically is focusing on autism in females on the “high functioning” area of the spectrum. She had written 6 books on autism before she even got her own diagnosis in her 40’s!! She explains brilliantly why these types are so easily mis or mis diagnosed.

[@carolynelevin88]

Exactly! Yes, we need to also mention how many females are actually acutely intuitive, very empathetic, and dare-I-say GOOD at socializing. I have a similar experience to you as well.

[@babycakes8727]

I’m a 39 y/o female and this description fits me perfectly.

[@mandalamia]

💜

[@moonbread2334]

Same here, especially the "learning empathy for survival"! It's funny though cause when I started therapy in my 20s, I quickly realized how bad I had always been at detecting and naming my OWN feelings. Once I started getting better at that, it was suddenly a lot easier for me to detect others' emotions, navigate social situations, etc....and once I understood my own needs and was able to fulfill them better, I was even way more curious about others' feelings and experiences than I ever had been before. So maybe this means I'm not actually autistic, and rather just had some stuff I needed to work through that was acting as a barrier to empathizing....or then again, maybe that's how autism presents in women? A lack of ability to understand our own feelings prevents us from understanding those of others?? Just a thought lol

[@MNkno]

The reduced neural pruning, makes it easy to understand how the small child would be overloaded and unable to handle the massive sensory input from their surroundings, and why they fixate on small details and avoid the huge input from social images, in an effort to get a handle on things. I do hope that in the attempt to understand what is going on, the idea of autism is not made pathogenic and somehow something wrong, instead of seeing it as a marker for aptitude for detailed, independent work, a you said in your conclusion.

[@johndouglas6183]

"huge input from social images" is how I experience eye contact. I have trouble tracking the conversation we were having because suddenly all of my resources are handling eyes analysis. =)

[@clararaimundi551]

What about anxiety in aspies? That is some research worth doing. Especially that anxiety and depression end up causing suicides

[@otakepepyake]

Because society don't accept autistic people, the same thing as anxiety in LGBT 50 years ago.

[@markzuccerberk8757]

@@otakepepyake Nope, acceptance has nothing to do with autism, i have Asperger's and i've always been neurotic whole my life.

[@comrademartinofrappuccino]

@@markzuccerberk8757 anekodal evidence does not say alot. Not a valid counter argument.

[@MelissaThompson432]

@@comrademartinofrappuccino I would like to meet the autistic person who has never had to endure the "patience" of a neurotypical person, who has never been "corrected" out of his natural behavior, who has never been bullied or shunned or called weird in his peer group. I HAVE met many autistic people who have masked so hard for so long they believe the fiction that there's nothing intrinsically different in their experience as compared to the average neurotypical. I have *been* one of those people.

[@MelissaThompson432]

Those people are depressed, suffering from PTSD, and often suicidal.

[@milascave2]

He seems to be talking mostly about "pattern" autistics. Autistics have gifts in different areas. Some in patterns, some in numbers, some in words.

[@jonasscheuer7639]

but pattern lies within all of them and imo its where autistics excel most at.

[@ozymandias8523]

Numbers, words are patterns lol

[@ponponpatapon9670]

all of those are patterns.

[@Neilgs]

The reason that children with ASD tend to look at mouths and not the eyes and/or predomiantly object is that our sympathetic nervous system is wired into the eyes. The eyes powerfully communicates our sympathetics, our autonomic physiological state/ nervous system (i.e. our emotions). It is NOT because they have a "preference" in the typical use of that term but rather and simply they "feel" emotionally-sensory overwhelmed! This is not permnanetly as it were "hard wired" but provisionally wired, meaning that there is an ENORMOUS amount of neuroplasticity. As the child becomes more pleasurably comfortable/ curious and desires to engage with others (i.e. affective feeling of "Relational Safety" rather than sympathetic fight/flight/withdrawal) then, his/her face to face engagement (the FFA fusiform face area of the FG fusiform gyrus) becomes much more neurotypically activated. This is NOT some sort of speculation. This is evidenced based fact. Unfortunately, ithis is NOT generally emphazised!

[@soccom8341576]

Wow, this is interesting. Would you care to let us know the source? :)

[@Neilgs]

@@soccom8341576 The paradigmatic shift begun in the early/mid 1990's to Affect Neuroscience, Jaak Pankeep; but you can begin here: Affect-Regulation, Allan Schore; Stephen Porges, Polyvagal Theory, Ed Tronic, Trevarthen; Stanley Greenspan, Dan Siegal, et al. kzbin.info/www/bejne/aoW1fWSKgtymq6M Affect-Developmental neuroscience in attachment research, psychobiological theory and infant/toddler development using neuroimaging with respect to how babies typically grow and develop in the context of Relationships. A brilliant presentation given in 2017 by Dr.Allan Schore, eminent American neuropsychologist, psychotherapist and researcher in the field of neuropsychology and affect-regulation: The First 1000 Days: A Critical Period For Shaping Our Emotional Selves And Social Brains kzbin.info/www/bejne/ooqaiYKrZd6cY6c

[@jumpingjellyfishy]

The reason I don't want to look back at people's eyes when talking to them or near them is because it feels way too personal, and either I don't think it's right to be that personal with them or I don't want to be that personal to them. I grudgingly do it because I've found out that it is the 'expected' thing to do. The only people I can comfortably look into the eyes with are my closest friends.

[@deadman746]

_Preference_ is argot from behaviorism. It simply means a high statistical correlation. It does not indicate anything about the common meaning.

[@adrianopper9472]

@@soccom8341576 idk what the OP is referring to, but I did read something similar when reading research on intense world theory of autism

[@teachermichelle9632]

My sons and husband are on the spectrum. I wish they didn't have empathy at the level they do. They have more empathy than any neurotypical people I've met. They just don't express it in the same way and at times they try not to connect because the empathy is overwhelming for them.

[@edademir2822]

i couldnt keep myself thinking why he holds this cup for the entire speech WHY

[@danielurbinatoro9496]

hahaha; I kept on thinking, "he's gonna spill the water"

[@diannerose8030]

Myself, my husband and our 4 kids are all autistic so its our normal

[@actually_autistic]

Same me, all my family and everybody I know are autistic too so to us being autistic is normal, we have never known life any other way. It’s neurotypicals that are the weird ones.

[@actually_autistic]

@@bluemamba5317 I’m very proud of my 22 year old autistic daughter with ADHD. I’ve reported your abusive comment to KZbin.

[@diannerose8030]

@@bluemamba5317 naw are you lonely so you decided to troll. Ok ill feed you. You are scared autistic people and people like us will wipe small minded trolls off the planet. 😘

[@diannerose8030]

@@actually_autistic people like that are just sad, lonely people who are looking for attention in the form of a fight.

[@reneethomas3440]

@@diannerose8030 with you, we should rule

[@sixbirdsinatrenchcoat]

I can’t help but think that (part of) the reason that the maths/science people scored higher on the autism tests is that more men are attracted to these specific types of systems - and that to a large extent, the diagnostic criteria are still based on more typically male presentations of autism. (Me, a very recently diagnosed autistic woman with a masters in litterature)

[@nicowong2428]

to add: men also have higher diagnostic rates of autism, so men correlated with autism; autism correlated with systems; men are also correlated with systems/"things" in general

[@nicowong2428]

so it's not that men are generally more attracted to systems therefore the data is invalid. it's more like all three of men, autism, and systems are correlated

[@anthonysnyder5609]

In a world based on lies, the mind evolves to seek truth and avoid liars. Perfect, rapid evolution.

[@worryworm]

I've got Aspergers and ADD, and have never been fascinated with mathematics, but language, biology, psychology and history. I wonder why most studies are geared towards boys and men.

[@elizabethbennet4791]

this guy is so SO wrong. He's been debunked for the past ten years. math is fascinting to me as a (also adhd/asd/anxiety) girl but MORE fascinating is literature, anthropology, biology, history, astrophysics, cooking and crafts.

[@juliafox52]

Autism manifests itself differently in girls. More research has been done on boys because the signs are more apparent and boys tend to manifest the extremes (in everything). BECAUSE girls on the spectrum tend to be more socially adaptable, they are more not diagnosed and autism in girls has not been as well studied.

[@AspieMediaBobby]

Same.

[@terranovarubacha5473]

Males have been more studied in every arena that isn't an explicitly female one. This is just recently beginning to be recognized as a problem. I don't mean to discount that boys can often be more easily recognized as having difficulties, that's certainly true, but it's possible that there is a contingent of men who have gone undiagnosed and unstudied because they fall within the 'female' profile. I hope we manage to pull them along with us as things improve

[@juliafox52]

@@terranovarubacha5473 It wasn't that long ago when children were not studied at all because they were thought of as little adults. (It's hard to remember sometimes that we have barely just climbed down from the trees.) Then there is the newest nonsense that boys and girls are the exact same and all one need do is take a magic pill to transform into the opposite sex. It is difficult to have patience for it all, but little by little hopefully we will indeed pull along humanity, even if they are literally kicking and screaming and fighting it all the way.

[@kgedgeyo5839]

17:50 when I was a kid I was able to just look at a picture of a lego build and make it, no instructions needed. It makes sense how I was able to do it now

[@michaelbishton9439]

It was truly delightful to hear such a body of clinical work thoughtfully expressed in a nontechnical manner. I learned a lot and better appreciate his positive points about human diversity.

[@adorkable1186]

Mabie the communication differences are because these individuals are meant to function more on their own and with the people who put the effort into understanding. Aka,the people who choose to stay by them and don't victemize them. Knowledge is empowerment, real love is priceless. Doctrine and popularity have nothing on you. People who charmed, bashed, lied and belittled their way to power might not like you because they can't squeeze it out of you no matter how they bash. If you are literally incapable of conforming to someone or something there's a reason.

[@VeroniqueKowalewicz]

I am one of the super empathic autistic women.. I have SO MUCH problems because I was never diagnosed and tried so hard to be like everyone else and I am now at 27 years old disabled by autistic burnout…

[@VeroniqueKowalewicz]

@Tony Tran aw thank you

[@VeroniqueKowalewicz]

@Tony Tran My IQ is above average so I am not a retard but I do have empathy and lots of love to give! Hugs 🤗 xox

[@VeroniqueKowalewicz]

@Tony Tran thank you ❤️🥰

[@pistilliproductions2930]

57:40 there is a correlation that could explain why there is an increase in autism after the end of the war. This is the time in history where mechanization becomes a major factor in society leading to possible niches for people that have autistic traits and giving them a better opportunity to reproduce. A more modern and mechanized lifestyle could also be described as a slower lifestyle

[@virginiamoss7045]

Interesting point. But where does the "more" come from if few people are being diagnosed? Or if few people even know of the diagnosis. I'd have to know more.

[@HeatherWorkmanRios]

I think there is something to that. But I would argue it's also about transportation and especially the internet that are making it easier to date outside of just a small circle of your hometown or aquaintances. VERY often autistic people are drawn to other autistic people. I dated Autistic men before i even knew I was autistic. There is a familiarity, and a comfort. Even if they aren't autistic, if they have family who are, or maybe were raised by an autistic parent, they may feel a comfort and attraction to people with those characteristics. And if you have autism in your family you are much more likely to pass it on to your kids. For example, my ex husband is not Autistic but I am. After I married him, his brother was diagnosed with Autism while in the Navy. So Autism was in his family even though he didn't know it. And I personally feel his father is Autistic though I don't think he has ever been diagnosed. So was my ex husband drawn to me because he grew up with autistic people and it seemed "normal"? And my daughter is autistic.... not surprising with two parents with autism in their families. And I was from a completely different region than him... we met in another state neither of us were from. So modern transportation and ease of travel compared to the past helps people with similar genetic traits find each other and reproduce. So.... the gigantic change in modern times about how we date and find people to date is so different. We can go on dating websites and find a match based on personality traits etc. We can date someone in another state or country. I think Autistic people are just dating other autistic people more. (and a lot of them may have a mild autism and not even know it and not be diagnosed) but then when they have kids they are having kids with autism. So yeah i think it could be increasing for many different reasons. And of course, we are becoming better at diagnosing it.

[@knockhello2604]

Factories

[@knockhello2604]

Hm

[@nadeking4825]

Just sounds like natural selection.

[@playinglifeoneasy9226]

I notice how the social question always glosses over the persistent social abuse so many autistic people are subject to so that by the time anyone trots by and actually asks, the topic is triggering. Maybe if neurotypical people and their kids were less predatory us neurodiverse people with our giant amygdalae would be less traumatized and more socially available. We focus on the mouth because we often have auditory processing issues and rely on lip reading to accurately hear the dialogue. This is getting frustrating to watch.

[@mazingworldofmegan8906]

I disagree. Autism isn't becoming more common @ 4:58. It's becoming more known about. More understood and more recognized. But it has always been we just know more now

[@sallyho3000]

Mazing Worldof Megan I agree. To claim autism is on the rise completely disregards the literally millions of us who either go undiagnosed or are diagnosed later in life. It is so disgustingly intellectually dishonest to continue acting like the rest of us don’t exist. Further, the more we begin to understand what autism really is (thanks fMRI) the more we should be starting to ask the question: Is this far more common than we had originally assumed? Alas, education is largely a scam to convince people that they know enough to not need to ask any more questions. Quite dangerous, in that respect...

[@w8what575]

And this assumption that people with any form of autism have no empathy is so out of line it’s dangerous to be diagnosed...with diagnosis u run the risk of being labeled as violent or psychopathic which is absolutely not true...and how the hell is Aspergers considered autism? People automatically assume u can’t care for urself or function like others when again that’s not true...

[@actually_autistic]

There have always been autistic people. Even now most autistic people are still undiagnosed, and years ago hardly anybody was.

[@nadeking4825]

What about natural selection?

[@mazingworldofmegan8906]

@@nadeking4825 yes, I self diagnose at the moment because I haven't been able to find a doctor that can diagnose in adult females with the masking symptom and I've scored in the range of having it for the AQ test. I've considered that ASD is an example of humans transitioning into genetic adaptation. I'm pretty sure my mom is but she is currently diagnosed as bipolar. My brother is definitely on the spectrum and we have different dad's. My brother has always been my hero and until a year ago I never had noticed he could be. Only because I had suspected myself as being on the spectrum and adults in his life believe it as well. My best friend I've known since I was 5, was diagnosed as Asperger's in high school and I never thought he was any different than myself. I know these aspects are not definitive, I tend to know alot of people with Asperger's and get along extremely well with most of them.

[@MistaSmith]

1) I think this man has more insight than many others. 2) still, he thinks the boy is not socially interacting. And yet someone decided to make a photo of the boys work and someone decided to make a presentation with this photo and someone decided to film this presentation and me decided to watch this presentation. How is that not social interaction? 3) imposing one’s ideas of order onto the world? There’s a word for it: leadership.

[@SarahDawesFilms]

A larger Amygdala. Now this is very, very interesting in terms of my current research. Thank you

[@alanastone5241]

I wish Nigel had had a larger one too.

[@alchemiaofficial1464]

Right?? I was under the impression that the amygdala was underdeveloped in autistic brains

[@akumaplantstudios8869]

@@alchemiaofficial1464 Same, infact not just the amygdala but the brain in general.

[@mirmalchik]

oh jesus, that's ominous (says the person thinking he might be on the spectrum, who is hopefully just being paranoid as it seems intuitive to expect with more activity in the amygdala)

[@MelissaThompson432]

@@mirmalchik I can't speak to Baron-Cohen's research, but the brains of autistic people are normal. We tend to have differently wired synaptic connections than neurotypical people, but in many parts of the brain, there are more connections, or more efficient connections. In other areas, there may be fewer connections, but it can also be a matter of differently wired connections, this time operating _less_ efficiently. Don't be scared off by people who don't live with an autistic brain.

[@sparkythancztwise]

On the gaze tracking: the mouth gives away far more than most people consciously recognize or utilize. And the eyes are simply too much --since they contain so much intense data of such a sensitive nature. And so many eyes reveal profound levels of dishonesty (both inter and intra exhibited) and there is so much pain and misery of a staggering range in far too many people's eyes (presently in the United States, I can't remember the experience very well when I traveled a lot when younger). It's too hard to give others' eye full attention most of the time. It's exhausting, and overwhelming.

[@spanixtanspanixtan8757]

You are right. Many cultures through time have regarded eye contact as something a bit dangerous. For oversensitive people it can be as an intense smell or glare that knocks you out, makes your nervous system shut down to the intensity. Many people live like actors or marketing experts, with a constant gaze to lower you down, just like a fight to take over others´will. They also use an artificial voice that sounds like a pretentious farce and even violent because of its patent intention: like a blow to the sensible mind, but useful with those whose senses are numb with TV input, always stronger and stronger. You can´t analyze everything, and it´s difficult to train one´s brain to remain calm and filter out the noise and bullshit.

[@lizvlx]

god i agree so much with you. you can see ppl's lies in their eyes and that is usually not something i wanna deal with.

[@iahelcathartesaura3887]

I was in my 40s before I finally could train myself & withstand to look in people's eyes for real. Until then, I always looked at their mouth... unless I knew I had to fake it, then I'd look blankly at their one eye then the other in super quick succession, or stare at their eye area or forehead like it had a shiny slice of thick ice over it - kind of looking at but not seeing all the way thru to their eyes. I couldn't take it, couldn't manage it, thought something was terribly bad about me but knew I needed to do it that way.

[@virginiamoss7045]

I find I hear more thoroughly if I watch the mouth. I'm lip reading because when I process language little bits and pieces of sound get dropped so that I have to work very hard to deduce what the missing pieces are from the context to understand what has been said. That makes listening extremely exhausting and takes away from my ability to respond to conversation in the timely manner that the other person expects. So I appear stupid. Unfortunately, nearly all of schooling is the teacher up there talking away. If they would have just given me the words on paper so I could read it, I would have learned so much more with so much less stress. I would have loved home schooling where all that I needed to learn was written coming from a computer at my own pace. I could have been so much more successful, more 'me'.

[@flawedplan]

So....don't be a film critic?

[@bocciaalex]

Wow, he and Sacha’s voices sound almost indistinguishable

[@wilfredarasaratnam]

My brother had a lecture with him when my brother was at university. I joked that my brother should have come dressed as Ali G! I bet Prof Baron Cohen gets this all the time!

[@pedrocarvalho4999]

Picture this: a human baby is left among wolves, and raised among them. What would wolves think of him/her? 1 - Can't howl. 2 - Can't sense smell nearly as far. 3 - Can't run as fast as the group. The baby would be "classified" by the wolves as a member with disabilities, and who needs special care. But as we know, human brain is way more powerful than the brain of wolves. What lacks in the case is proper upbringing and proper stimuli. Wolves can't offer that, because THEY are the limited ones !! Neurotypicals are the wolves, and autists are the baby. Neurotypicals fail at them, not the other way round.

[@milekrizman]

Wolves are adapted to forest

[@cathsylvan]

hoi pedro, your example/still image might need to become a storyboard. the wolves in the past used to care for their "medicine-autists babies".the babies in turn helped the wolves plant the trees to "make" that forest world grow in ways which are optimal for said wolves and only recently the perception of the differences in wolves society came to the forefront, making the babies do all this categorization/differentiation as well which might lead to further scenes both destructive und constructive. i really don't like that storyboard. why would wolves beget human babies? where do the come from? the wolves would have killed most of their pray and try to mark high transitways as well as times in which a certain quota of food has to be brought in. anyway. the way i learned to see the world is a simplistic one. us humans and our primate ancestors have amassed a large repository of possible traits which can/may/will come to be used, if circumstances call for them (i.e. long famine triggering a more energy efficient way of metabolisation for athe next generation till a surplus of food flips the switch back). the world humans built is highly complex and sometimes seemingly complicated. it also seems boged down by competing sociocultural terms of engagement and its struggles over close/near/easy accessible resources (mostly short term gains for some part of the humans). else humanity would long (since the early 1980's) be mining/building in a 6 AE radius around earth whilst the earthbound people enjoy live to its fullest, doing/exploring/constructing in a human-fiendly world built by humans for all beings instead of what it is. complex slow and rather convoluted. looking at details in the world, for 40+ years helps building "some" pictures of the world but as with anybody , the pictures are simplistic, highlight details the watcher cared about at one time and are blurred through longtime exposure. ;] have a wonderful live to the maximum of your ability. \o/ \o/ \o/

[@martynblackburn1977]

The wolves would be under natural selection. Humans are no longer under natural selection.

[@VariantAEC]

The wolves would kill and/or eat this disabled pup or baby. You're lucky to be human in human society which is why you're alive to talk s••• about them, twit.

[@knockhello2604]

@@VariantAEC zamn

[@radimfiala1680]

Thank you for the upload ..... EPSIG UK.

[@eileenllorens5760]

Environmental factors are very important. Nutrition. Gut problems. Heavy metal exposure. Toxins. Strange these are not discussed. There is available independent research, and most important, the data gathered from parents and their observations on some of the factors that appear to have triggered the condition.

[@Jen.K]

They are mentioned briefly by the reference to epigenetic effects.

[@actually_autistic]

eileen llorens “Data gathered from parents and their observations”, at least half of which are autistic too but undiagnosed and in denial. If your child is autistic, either you or your partner, or both, are autistic too. Fact. No llores Llorens, ser autista no es nada malo.

[@actually_autistic]

KEPLER I’m autistic and know many, many many autistic people. I have yet to meet a single autistic person who says neither their father or mother are autistic too.

[@davidrojas4687]

I had a heavy metal exposure at my teens

[@Andrew-rc3vh]

I really appreciate the speaker's clear, logical and uncluttered presentation. .

[@shin-ishikiri-no]

I wonder if the attraction to repetition has anything to do with taste in music or even video games. I find that very few people in the general public enjoy ambient/electronic/house/shoegaze music (little to no lyrics), but when you meet people who do share this interest we seem to have a lot of other things in common and get along very well. I've also noticed, weirdly, that people who like Sonic The Hedgehog (yes the video game character associated with SEGA) have a very real personality difference compared to most other people. Sonic fans have a well-known reputation for being picky and detail-oriented. They are also hyper-productive with creating their own fan art. Sonic fan games are a HUGE deal in the community, and the depths of development and attention to detail is mind bending. You can almost predict a "Sonic fan" based on their taste in music, personal dialect, above average optimism, and mannerisms. Of course their may be some bias on my part, which is why I'd implore researchers to investigate.

[@effexon]

I wouldnt think it is that narrow labeling.... as kid I got SNES and thus no sonic but I like fps games which werent around so Id perhaps have enjoyed sonic too. Detail oriented I cant remember if sonic is anything more special than many other games. Pokemon comes more to mind as that creator is asperger. However compared to mario games, sonic artwork is very cool.

[@AlexShiro]

You might have something on the music; that stuff is bliss for me lol and working in the Mental Health area myself, I can see certain types connect with that soundscape.

[@shawnamay36]

I think that when results are presented regarding empathy among those with Autism, it causes a lot of confusion. I live in a large family of Autists, and I can confidently say that those with Autism often have a strong sense of empathy. How empathy is measured and how it is expressed by Autistic people likely contribute to the quantitative difference between Autists and those who do not have Autism in the research. The difference in scores is, of course, relevant in some way and makes me wonder what is being asked in the formal assessment questions. Are the questions really measuring empathy, or are there confounding variables? Are those lower scores of empathy common, or are they representing a smaller percentage of some who do not experience as much empathy? Is the assessment measuring cognitive empathy or affective empathy? I think it is important to elaborate when presenting results because I commonly see comments of disbelief about the finding that those with Autism feel less empathy than others.

[@Soundslikefreedom58]

Those are very good critical thinking questions!

[@Soundslikefreedom58]

What may make a better category is “social engagement skills.” Because empathy to me is the ability to imagine the pain or joy that others feel. Social engagement might be more objective and observable in the behaviors of not making eye contact and preferring to work and play alone. --The “auto” in autism.

[@viharsarok]

Society projects its own lack of empathy for autists onto autists. It's like "autists don't devote their lives to please us so they must lack empathy".

[@himawarimanjushage9735]

The validity of questionnaires who base their scores on the subjectve perception of the respondent in order to measure a skill is something that I often put into question. Individual subjetctiveness may distort the real score that a person would get if rates by more comprehensive examination such as direct observation, interview with subject, interview with subject's friends/relatives/acquaintances. A lof of behavioural research is built on the scientific equivalent of "trust me, bro" due to the use of questionnaires wth questionable validity. For some aspects of behaviour, such as thoughts/internal perceptions, it is inevitable and we must rely on what the person tells us, but whenever behaviour is measurable in different ways, it should be. Personal experience as well as scientific research has made me very aware that people greatly overestimate their skills when they are not so good, and underestimate when they excell. I don't think empathy is any different as a skill.

[@haltaiar]

Very interesting, I watched it all.

[@ToqTheWise]

It isn’t just hypersensitivity, our brains process sensory information and pain information the same way. When I hear a loud noise it isn’t jus really loud but it causes neuropathic pain. It’s like someone replaced my bone marrow with fire.

[@madyjules]

Bravo to the Baron-Cohen family-> absolutely amazing to have given the world two extremely talented cousins: Dr. Simon (as depicted here) & his brother, Sasha (the hilarious actor & comedian)

[@julietardos5044]

They're cousins. But they do look like brothers.

[@tim40gabby25]

@@julietardos5044 he said ".. talented cousins". Nitpicking, as am I :)

[@julietardos5044]

@@tim40gabby25 He edited it. (edited: But he missed a spot.)

[@tim40gabby25]

@@julietardos5044 Ah.. that fits.

[@drewwilson8756]

One time someone asked me "Do you think you're on the spectrum?" I answered, "Everyone is on the spectrum. That is why it's a spectrum." In retrospect I realized that is probably the most Autistic answer someone can give to that question.

[@bellakrinkle9381]

Yes, reality is on a spectrum, too. No one seems to notice.

[@eileenjesionowski9164]

Thank you so much for sharing this video. As the parent and grand parent of Autistic boys, I am vitally interested in these ideas. 1. Your presentation gave me some clear delineations for autism spectrum patterns. 2. I found from watching/listening to the information you presented that not only does my husband have autism, but it appears that I show some traits as well. 3. We have 3 children, and the oldest, who is now 41 fits all of your clinical info about systemization. He is a computer programmer designing data for satellites. However, he has never really had a date - finds women too scary. His school career has been mixed, but when he attended Kettering University in Flint MIchigan in the US, one of his first comments to me was, "Mom, everybody here is a nerd." I suspect as an engineering school is was filled with autism spectrum students. 4. My daughter exhibits all of the fascinating empathizing characteristics of a Painter with an MFA in painting. However, she is a Development Director working with a PTSD treatment company that uses psychedelics. She spent 5 years at CalTech at a Dev Dir. She is the one with the autistic son who is 2.5 years old. He is getting therapy for speech and for his autism issues.BUT my daughter has an amazing ability for systemization as well as empathetic qualities. Her husband, however, also shows many autistic issues. 5. My youngest, a son, has been diagnosed with adult ADHD, but I suspect also shows some autistic tendencies. He is happily married, and he has had few social issues in his school years. However, he shows enormous systemization capabilities, and he is a philosopher and prolific reader. (Degree is BA in Literature) I can only say that 6. I plan to go further and talk the children into possibly taking the AQ test online, or perhaps some form of clinical examinations. I find this fascinating. Thanks again for sharing this video.

[@lilithmotherofmonsters6055]

I like how when asked if fathers returning from war has anything to do with autism his response carried a very "sit down grandpa" vibe

[@tammybrown4410]

In my opinion, Autism has been with us for a long time. I am grateful to watch this. My eldest son was diagnosed with Autism when he was 17. He just passed away at the beginning of this month. I have always wondered if I could be autistic. I was blessed to have my son in my life. When he was growing up. I made sure to to tell him he was very loved by so many no matter what. In his last year of his life, he wasn't hearing the word of God which important was in his life. I never gave up on him just because he couldn't could not communicate what he knew. I know how he felt. I understand that.

[@michaelcandido2824]

I’m sorry for your loss Tammy! I am what was aspbergers at a time when all this stuff did not have a name. I have 2 kids that are autistic as well.

[@michaelcandido2824]

@Just Me could be. Learned that autistic kids have a larger brain that sometimes have more then 65% more neurons and overly developed brain too fast. Makes sense when stimulation to stuff gets hard sometimes.

[@DutchmanAmsterdam]

@@michaelcandido2824 Do adult autistics still have a larger brain with more neurons? Or is that only in the child fase of development?

[@michaelcandido2824]

@@DutchmanAmsterdam that’s in childhood but their brains develope at a normal rate after. My son and I have. Big heads compared to our bodies. I’m on the spectrum and he is non verbal and 4.

[@effexon]

@@michaelcandido2824 this would explain kid, teenage problems many report, coz they have too much information too fast, so it makes learning and processing way harder and social things are so time and context sensitive this approach rarely benefits (mostly hindsight)

[@dramatriangle]

Excellent presentation! I appreciate the variety of information and the sensitivity with which you presented it. The variation in tone of your voice, your timbre and accent, the pace at which you presented, all top notch. I appreciate how you explain a practical application of each statistical finding within the presentation.

[@julietteelisabeth1734]

However, as a female with Asperger's I went into the humanities and studied humans. I studied psychology and sociology which are considered humanity subjects, although I do have biology and chemistry at AS level too. My Masters is in Education specialising in difficulties in literacy development and applied linguistics; basically combining psychology, sociology and linguistics. I'm finding this research very male autistic based, which perpetuates the profile of the male autistic.

[@damianbylightning6823]

No offence, but female aspies, for example, are just not as interesting as male ones. So many female aspies, in teenage years, just don't stand out. Better marketing.

[@actually_autistic]

That’s Simon Baron Cohen’s inability to put himself in the shoes of autistic women... ie lack of empathy. No mention the reason autistic girls and women are not diagnosed is because the autism tests Simon Baron Cohen himself wrote, which are used by GPs and psychiatrists to screen and test autism, are male orientated with questions about male interests and zero questions about female interests, traits present in autistic females but not males, or about masking autistic traits, which girls and women do. His lack of insight is just shocking. Ironically he uses photos of women in his presentation to make out he’s inclusive of women...

[@damianbylightning6823]

@@actually_autistic I don't want to knock him - he's made many great insights. My biggest criticisms of the aspie industry is the use of a spectrum. Spectra are often useless. We need to adopt Wittgenstein's idea on family resemblances instead. The other thing we need to do is abandon completely the headshrink industry - which would force teachers to cooperate with real scientists - not mumbo-jumbo artists from the headshrink industry. Real medics need proper feedback from teachers and from real scientists. If people want women and girls to be studied, you'll not get it through mumbo-jumbo, the humanities or from ideological commitment and criticism. What's needed is application of the scientific method, further application of the applied science of medicine and clued-up lay people all working together - and all need a crash course in letting go of fucking spectrum bullshit. Wittgenstein is difficult - but his ideas on family resemblance are not really that difficult. I've met psychologists who can understand it.

[@jumpingjellyfishy]

It's sad that current research into as and autism seems to be dominated by the type of social structure that autistics seem to be most at odds with. Typical of human society i suppose.

[@lindamahrer1760]

@@jumpingjellyfishy YUP! SO RIGHT YOU ARE....WHAT IS DISTURBING PSYCHIATRY ITSELF HAS NOT CHANGED SO MUCH....IT IS THE USE OF DRUGS CREATING MORE HAVOC WITHIN 6HRS OF BIRTH THROUGH A LIFE TIME TO DEATH....THINK ABOUT WHAT IS PUT IN TO YOUR BODY...WHAT ONE INJESTS..( AND HOW AN INDIVIDUAL IS PROGRAMED BY SO CALLED PROFESSIONALS/ ALLOPATHIC MEDICINE 💊 AND SCIENTIFIC WIZARDING.....YES TO AUTHORITY BECAUSE THEY ARE SUPERIOR, BETTER EDUCATED. THEY KNOW BEST. HALF OF THEM ARE PROGRAMMED ROBOTS WHO LISTEN TO THE JARGON OF A PHAMA SALES TECH AND NEVER READ THE LITERATURE NOR UNDERSTAND NEUROLOGICAL PATTERNS OR CHANGE.

[@Htrac]

What a great talk. I like the calm, methodical way that Professor Cohen speaks with.

[@TipTheScales27]

It’s frustrating that girls are still under diagnosed. My mom tried getting me tested, but the school said I was fine because my grades were great 😑 Now as a 30 year old woman I have to fight to get tested

[@bellakrinkle9381]

Don't bother, test yourself, online if you need confirmation. I did.

[@khtnsuwdih]

maybe it's the neurotypical people who have the problem relating to those who are diferent.

[@HobertMallow]

As an engineer I can confirm that we do in fact have children like other people do. In all seriousness, this was very interesting.

[@entelin]

It's critically important to understand that evolution is not ultimately about the survival of the individual, but rather of the group. So you can have people who don't reproduce well, but nonetheless contribute to the survival of the whole. In other-words, it can be evolutionary advantageous to carry the "program" of autism despite an active case being deleterious to the reproduction of individuals. There are many traits like this, lengthy age past fertility for example. Imagine one group that produced a minority of people with autistic traits that despite having fewer children, produced or invented better tools or weapons, vs another groups who did not. In those cases the whole group, including inactive carriers of autistic traits are more successful.

[@2359-UK]

what a great video

[@Mcfreddo]

It was a beautifully explained and flowing presentation and the question time was excellent and so insightful! Thank you!

[@southerncomfortuk]

Beautifully presented 🙏

[@hhghh7878]

Brilliant lecture by Borat Bro.

[@parmafoi4066]

My daughter, 18, with autism diagnosis since she was 4, is excelling in arts, painting and drawing very personal, creative and emotionaly profound pictures. Learning very quickly, but in this domain only. She nas difficulties in creating social intercourse, but she needs it very, very much. She doesn't match the mentioned criteria though. We have a real problem with educating her in the system

[@Anonymous-df8it]

*$exu@1 intercourse

[@johnvallsater4499]

I'm also on spectrum, this is fascinating. What a great representation, cleaver questions/answers.

[@josephcross7960]

bravo for the presentation, great information

[@getreadywithmemamma6973]

I’m high empathy low systems I hate rules I’m definitely Aspergers my sister is systems and my father I’m a nurse, I work with adults with developmental disabilities and I’m watching this as a love letter to my Aspergers son thank you 💕💕💕

[@cezariuszreginia5300]

u are or youre not?

[@getreadywithmemamma6973]

@@cezariuszreginia5300 I am I think?

[@cartoonhanks1708]

Are you saying that you have have empathy and low systematizing and that you have Asperger's? Or that you are high empathy low systematizing but your family has Asperger's?

[@getreadywithmemamma6973]

@@cartoonhanks1708 hmmmm I’m not sure what I was saying before I’ll go back and read it, but I identified with the part of the lecture where they asked about the people with high empathy and I think low systemitizing and why would they never show up in the lab to be tested and that they were probably nurses and caring for the world. Which I am that haha but I would never fit into an Aspergers’ diagnosis but based on my son and my father and my hubs and all of his family I think that I am on the spectrum just in the other side.

[@getreadywithmemamma6973]

@@cartoonhanks1708 I’m saying that hold on I actually think I have high empathy and systemizing but that it’s not the same structure, or processes at high systemizers with low empathy have. Also, I do not clinically have Aspergers, but I believe myself and my family to have it: my son would have it if the diagnosis still existed today. We have several people within our sides of the family who have Aspergers, Autism (diagnosed clinically and undiagnosed).

[@DixieFatline]

What a fantastic lecturer! Thank you!

[@margaretharehulina]

Thank you for facilitating this great lecture and discussion.

[@vanessajones9524]

Fantastic video

[@sabastiankilgore781]

Patterns are unavoidable, essential, and beautiful. Empathy isn't lost, it's in overdrive.

[@williamoarlock8634]

Empathy is narcissism.

[@lyns4484]

In Autism - Empathy is felt as ones 'whole' experience, not just via the left brain function. Stress exacerbates detail focus. More research needs to be done, to understand this state better.

[@objetivista686]

High on empathy =/= high on social skills. Higher emotional intelligence =/= high social intelligence. Highly emotional people feel their and others emotions too much and clearly.

[@marthamurphy7940]

Fascinating! Prof. Baron-Cohen's observations fit me very well.

[@camillalotus1177]

Very interesting presentation. Thank you.

[@joannelyn]

My mum has a photograph of me, in my first year of Primary School. I am very clearly looking at the mouths and not into the eyes, of others around me. I was very interested in others, and dearly wanted to make friends, but it was difficult for other children to play with me, because they didn't understand. By the age of nine, that was clear when my cousin, who, at the same age, was maturing in her friendships, where I was not. My mother has always feared that I did not develop a sound Theory of Mind. Ive read varying theories of the definition of that term. You would need a solid example to say whether or not someone possesses a sound understanding of how the other person thinks it feels, in my humble experience

[@glacialimpala]

It's weird to me that I was exactly the same and then in my early 20s I slowly became the opposite - knowing all too well how human interactions work, recognizing tiniest mood changes and cues. It's like autism you outgrow??

[@joannelyn]

@@glacialimpala yes, I think we learn how to do the right thing. I still find myself looking at mouths, though, if eye contact is too intense, which it can be with some people. I work as an assistant with young children. I have no trouble having good communication with them, because they don't judge

[@getreadywithmemamma6973]

Oh this is fabulous this is the same feeling I had when I sat down to see Borat... and I am a female with Aspergers whose son has Aspergers, my father was a physician on the spectrum my sister is on the spectrum my husband sister in law mother in law and well, our family tree is like an autism Christmas tree... I’d be interested in chatting. There are a ton of professors, teachers, nurses, engineers, ots etc in our families there is also a loooot of anxiety and depression...my father was 38, my spouses’s father was 32 when they married...

[@tommyvercetti7249]

Can we meet??? Can I talk to you???

[@getreadywithmemamma6973]

@@tommyvercetti7249 not into meeting, but any questions?

[@justinokraski3796]

That gives me some hope, being 28 and single

[@getreadywithmemamma6973]

@@justinokraski3796 you have time and we all go through life actually alone just with special connections in family in friends so use the time to enjoy and to know who you are.

[@thered4048]

This guy's S's pierce my very soul omg

[@gillb9222]

It's really interesting listening to this as it does seem incredibly autistic male focused but then I realised its from 7 years ago. The research is developing so fast

[@Scorch1028]

What concerns me the most about the rising rates of ASDs is the future “increased dependency” on public assistance programs. Today, many adults with an ASD “cannot work” in most occupations, yet they’re told that they “have to work” and/or “have to seek employment” in order to be eligible for EBT cards, cash assistance, etc. Many autistic adults in the U.S. are presently “homeless or incarcerated”. It’s alarming to think that these numbers could increase dramatically over the next decade.

[@HeatherWorkmanRios]

it would be helpful if employers would learn more about autism and find ways of helping us stay employed. Society could work to help us find jobs that are better fits for us. Even things like interviews (which inexplicably are a significant part of the hiring process) are extremely difficult for us to the point where we rarely are given a chance. I've found that manufacturing jobs are perfect for me. I don't have to worry about customer service, or having bad social skills. I'm great at repetitive tasks too. But I've worked in places where the sensory overload was unbearable and I have to quit. If my employer had allowed me to wear headphones and a hooded sweatshirt or hat, I probably would have stayed 10 years or more. And I was the most productive employee they had. I argued that there was a deaf woman who did the same job as me, so why would noise cancelling headphones be a danger to me, if it was safe for her to work there? I couldn't take certain noises that got progressively worse due to procedural changes so I had to quit. I lost my ability to focus on the job because of something they could have easily changed to help me. I think a lot of other autistic people are like me. We tend to avoid jobs involving customer service, using phones or things like that. But almost all entry level jobs require "people skills" so we either quit or are fired. Then what options do we have? Well, in my opinion, there would be a lot more if employers just understood a few simple things about us and would be willing to accommodate our needs.

[@y-lonnaieylottalovelydayz8473]

@@HeatherWorkmanRios voc rehab might be able to help...

[@jumpingjellyfishy]

If autistics were allowed to work how they want while still achieving results instead of being forced to follow ill-fitting contrived processes then then the dependency should go down.

[@beazrichz973]

This comment reminds of someone saying this dumb idea: “We know that hate against homosexuality is a problem to solve, but we can’t legalize gay marriage, can’t protect gays from hardships, and we don’t have to respect their sexuality. Why don’t we try to cure your suffering with conversion therapy to make straight? What advantages does homosexuality have? The human race will die out if we accept gay marriage as gays are evolutionary deadends and don’t reproduce.” What is ironic is that some people still say that about gays, and no, this quote actually is what some homophobe said on twitter once. I wonder if y’all realize that people are doing similar talking points about us who are developmentally disabled. “I don’t hate people with autism, I just think they need to be cured, we are social beings, and are mean’t to have relationships, and marriage, have you tried drinking bleach? That might fix you. My advice for people who have tourettes, dyslexia, and autism, don’t have kids you will make others suffer with your disease. Why is it society’s job to help autistics? We should be curing autism as autistics are a burden to the family and don’t deserve assistance!” My response to this bs. There is about 1,000 genes associated with autism, and autism is triggered in the womb and something you’re born with and runs in the family so there will never be a “cure” for autism. If we’re unable to cure even things like hairloss which is a single gene, then how can I expect we will cure things that have 1,000 genes and isn’t even a disease or life threatening disability? Autism doesn’t develop in adults or those already born into the world with no developmental disability like autism. You’re either born with autism or you’re not. And given that our brain is so complex to understand even by the smartest people in history, what would “cure” be without killing the person or changing their personality? Lobotomy? Even neurosurgery alone is mostly unsafe given that you can get brain tissue damage, tumors, or worse after brain surgery.

[@grayrachelle]

You dont have to work to get EBT. I have worked the majority of my adult life and presently cannot work gainfully. In the process of applying for social security disability. I can be and am still a contributing member of society. I also vote. I agree that our system needs better supports in place for poverty and disabiity as well as systemic racism. I got accommodations at work for my first diagnosed condition starting 11 years ago. (In the US) We definitely need more inclusive and progressive environments for work, school, public life. Start with what we have now.

[@trishtraynor]

I'd love half an hour with the Prof to talk about my synaesthesia now that I know it relates to increased numbers of synapses. It's been so naturally present that I thought it had to arise at cell level. Also, masking to fit in. That was exhausting!

[@davidspencer1558]

My learning curve needs more data. Fascinating subject. Thank you.

[@nancywysemen7196]

glad i watched. relates to much in my family.

[@barbarajames9470]

Based on the information in this video, my father and grandfathers were on some level autistic, I (age 62) am also affected. And my son age 42 also. My daughter age 40. is decidedly social, not mechanical. I find greater associative energy with research, farming, problem solving that does not require me to seek approval from or cooperation with other people. I just don't need it and I'm happy. I can enjoy people time, but it wears me out mentally. It requires more of my energy. I enjoyed this video.

[@jamilynncreates3622]

Thank you for putting this on KZbin and making it accessible to average people such as myself. Very interesting theories here, scary how much of it I found myself relating to.

[@quarianghost]

That’s the thing, people think autistic people are aliens compared to “normal” people but actually they do things people normally do but all the time, normal people can get mad at loud noises but the majority of times they can ignore it, someone autistic will almost always get annoyed by them, normal people can be shy the first stage of life, autistic will always suffer with social interactions at some point and a lot more of examples haha

[@janwallace5005]

Fascinating presentation

[@EllaStone]

wow... i should be paying for this quality knowledge!!!

[@MsLadyKD]

It is stifling how much suicide, suicide attemtps and molestation accompanies those of us with asbergers... dealt with this my whole life... our gullible, innocent, ignorant selves are bullied and told to stop being so sensitive. This literally explains my life and struggle and nearly all women misdiagnosed as bipolar or borderline personality or narcissistic or learning disabled To say the pain of being misunderstood, disliked, hated, judged, condemed, criticized, reprimanded, called crazy/wierd/different/quarky/stupid, a bitch, inconsiderate of others feelings, self pitying, pathetic, fake, domineering, to sensitive, over reacting, not listening, lying, and asked to be someone I'm not in order to please social norms has and is excruciating is an Understatement I'm incredibly grateful for the few around me that get me even though I burn them out (imagine being in my life of trauma with this misdiagnosed issue your whole life) and then being told your not allowed to be confident or proud of self when most others have no idea the momenumental effort I've displayed to be a citizen in society and not blow my brains out cause the world doesn't want who I LOVE to be but they find uncomfortable and hurtful I'm extremely grateful I've always had music and dance as an outlet... bc it's safe to stim, be loud /expressive and Alone as a dancer, singer where others can watch and enjoy my gifts rather then be hurt/burned by them Please society stop putting us down just because we physically "look" normal but don't act normal... to many of us ALL neurotypicals seem boring, constrained, inauthentic, robotic, programmed, predictable, judgmental, snooty, privileged, unintelligent, tricksters/lying for pleasure and self righteous. You have no idea how much Accomdating WE are doing for how annoying your social events and shawllow small talk is to us.... we just don't shit on it all the time the way you do on us. We show up for YOU not for ourselves. If it was up to us we'd stay home and play with our animals and our own imaginations. It does hurt when people claim we are fake or mean when almost always its there projecting of there own fakeness and meaness to withhold truth to keep themselves safe from the fallout of being disliked. Autistics are the most honest, straightforward, authentic, pure people on the planet and we already know most people don't like us we just accepted that and it being there problem long ago... and no that doesn't make us cocky or prideful... it makes us brave and self confident despite the world telling us to feel shame and worthlessness

[@luciddreams6210]

Borderline is just an ultra feminine spinoff of typical autism. They didn’t want to admit it for decades but they finally are.

[@zaylinstar8883]

THIISSSSSS. THIS. THIS. Omgsh. I don’t cry (much) when reading a persons comment on KZbin, but EACH AND EVERY SENTENCE you stated, punched me in the heart. I can’t even begin to explain the ABSOLUTE RELIEF I feel knowing I am NOT “trippin” and I’m not “too sensitive “ to constant fucking CRITICISM EVERY DAMN SECOND!! All the abuse for yeaaaaarss but bc it was ME… it didn’t matter. Bc I feel I have been dehumanized soooo many times, for. No. Reason. It’s impossible to explain or express experiencing LIFE like this, to finally know it’s OVER, and I can be my authentic self WHO JUST WANTED TO FUCKING DANCE AND SING 🎤 HER WHOLE LIFE!! The projection is constant. The smear campaigns, are rampant. Thank you for this GEM 💎

[@zaylinstar8883]

I do all these ALONE as well, bc for some reason, when I used to sing QUIETLY around people THEY WOULD GET ANGRY!! Now I only dance and sing Alooonnee where I can embody the harmony in my soul, and not be surrounded by cookie cutter “personalities “ who only want to gossip all damn day lol

[@mandaloolux9216]

Thank you couldn't have put it better

[@neglectfulsausage7689]

oh hey babe. U got any stories about the molesting? sound hot. btw autism is not an excuse for borderline/bipolar maladaptive treatment of others that terrorizes them emotionally. Dont try to pin bad behavior on the condition of autism.

[@lostpony4885]

I didnt mix with kids on the playground because they beat me up. I spent recess hiding or running. Took 40 years to figure out that was related to how well i interacted with them socially in the classroom in between unsupervised opportunities to express their feelings. Its not really fair to imply my fascination with solitude in a group is my choice; however i cant dispute my own personal correlative experience haha.

[@pepe6666]

Wow that was very insightful. That model is great. It seems to coherently reduce entropy of the whole sorta situation with varieties of people & varieties of symptoms. Very encouraging and inspiring that we can properly value the worth and skills of people instead of just seeing them as limited.

[@nickmagrick7702]

this is all fantastically done research

[@Luke_Stoltenberg]

There must be few things more frustrating than being really good at seeing patterns in the world but lacking the communication skills to convince regular people that you are onto something.

[@MajinSayon]

Hey, at least all the pattern recognition makes us immune to pr0p@ganda - which is the real reason why people in authority try to discredit us. We just don't buy their BS and it makes them livid.

[@pn2543]

such a good speaker, nice voice, measured tone, no ummms or aaaahhhs. interesting book reference mentioned: 'Neurotribes', hadnt heard of it but will check it out, thanks! makes me wonder about schizophrenia and other psychic transformations that may be triggered later in life where the brain goes through a permanent and mysterioius re-orientation.

[@Amber4]

These children are just highly gifted. There is no such thing as high functioning autism. Only classic autism. It is offending to be called autistic when your just way more intelligent then others ...

[@margaretwinson402]

Great presenter!