Autism: give me a chance and I will change everything | Noah Britton | TEDxNewEnglandCollege

This talk was given at a local TEDx event, produced independently of the TED Conferences. Noah Britton attempts to change the way people look at autism by explaining an oft-ignored core trait. Then he does something previously unseen in any talk.
Noah Britton is a psychology professor, performance artist, singer, guitarist, clothing designer, and autistic person. He is perhaps most famous for co-founding Asperger's Are Us, the first comedy troupe composed entirely of autistic people. He has worked directly with people on the autism spectrum since 2005, as therapeutic mentor, camp counselor, and researcher, and served on the US federal government's Interagency Autism Coordination Committee.

About TEDx, x = independently organized event In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized.* (*Subject to certain rules and regulations)

[Haley Schmidt]

This talk is genius. Immersive experiential demonstration of what it feels like to have a hypersensitive nervous system. I feel like crying for how validated I feel too, as a female with a sensitive nervous system, who has felt insane and ashamed and rejected and overwhelmed for years. Thank you for this. I hope to do work as a somatic therapist that will look like this, educating and supporting us all.

[Koki Galaxy]

this guy was my professor... he is so sweet and kind... I was always stealing a glance to look at his face... i was too shy to make eye contact... he is amazing

[Ip Sara]

@Leah Smith No wonder 😄

[NoahfromAspergersAreUs]

@Sin Tax On Tour with Asperger's Are Us

[Sin Tax]

@Leah Smith which show?

[Leah Smith]

@CatManiac CatAddict Yes! :) She's in the HBO show.

[psodq]

For autistic people sensitive to sound as myself: Warning, There's a sound-jump-scare at 07:44 as well as 08:53, at least if you're using headphones. Otherwise this was quite a good speech.

[Meredith Butikofer]

@Woop Slap bro same! 😅

[Hunkydoodle]

I really wish I'd seen this! That was terrible!

[A Machine]

Wish I’d read the comments before watching 😅 My phone suddenly started to ring just as it was over and almost killed it … The speech was very good though and I agree with everything he said about hate at the end. I use the same string of argumentation but I‘ve never met someone who understood.

[Kate Blais -이현주-]

OMG thank you! I wish I had seen this before watching. I made a comment above about the two sounds needing a trigger warning! Thank you!

[Marissa Maltais]

my teacher showed me this video to show me how my autism worked. i was always ashamed of myself until this video. my teacher was one of his friends. i thought i was the only one that felt like this until i watched this video. thank you Mrs.LaFontain (sorry if i spelt your name wrong)

[Julien Mehiri]

You should never be ashamed of yourself

[Stefan Sauvageon / What-a-Twist]

LaFontaine I think

[MonsterFTW]

Aw that’s awesome!

[Jaime Bollmer]

This is seriously the most straightforward video I have seen about Autism and sensory issues.... Everything else is so jumbled with junk and opinions..... absolutely love Noah

[Ashley Elliott]

Love. I have newly diagnosed son with Autism. People keep asking me how I feel about that -- I find it touching, but also Autism isn't something to grieve. I tell them that I feel fine about it. He's still smart, sweet, funny, and all the things he was before the diagnosis. I also keep a journal for him -- I have vowed not to let people/therapists try to correct his stim. behaviors. He shouldn't have to conform to society's norms, because he's 100% who he needs to be, and sometimes people on the spectrum need to work things out.

[Eilish Brennan]

to explain the ending, it was all set up and he was demonstrating that 1: the best way to protest things is through voicing your opinion 2: he was subjectively showing two sides to his argument and 3: they are in a relationship and he is fucking hilarious and wanted to shock everyone with his absurd humour not weird but the workings of a genius.

[Planet Hedgehog]

@aspergersareus I was wondering about that, and was impressed, thinking, "Wow, he's got game." LOL

[Mona Abdy]

I was reading the comments and thinking to myself, is anyone gonna mention the kissing? I was wondering WTH was that about? Thanks for explaining this 😂

[LeHaFu]

I was wondering what happened in the end, so weird you just kiss a random girl in public all of the sudden

[Caleb Jensen]

@Andrea Olivier It doesn't decrease the authenticity, it shows that he really meant to hit his point home. It also shows his true feelings, in that he would be willing to make out with someone in "total forgiveness" Also it was funny.

[David Ramer]

I was so confused too lmaoo

[Ambi Cahira]

To input as another with sensory sensitivity, I had a hugely massive emotional and physical response to that alarm clock. I held my ears, shut my eyes hard, chills like if you get touched by a creep, and the emotional response gave a physical response in tears. And this is something most people struggle with when they see me do this. They ask why I cry, I say I am not crying, it's an involuntary response to a stimulus - and then they don't immediately understand the difference. When you cry you are "boiling over" in an overwhelm like fear, sadness, anger, or empathy that needs to come out of you and it can be quite violent to get it out of you. You can feel that your eyes sting, you feel a feeling in your chest that can be sorrowful or overall heavy. Crying you can hold back the tears until you permit it to happen in many cases. This response I had is not the same. It is an instant reaction, no emotion to get out, just a physical reaction I can't feel coming, can't control, and the eyes don't sting. So what I wanted out of this rant is to put out there that stimulus sensitivity causes physical reactions that doesn't always make sense to those that has never experienced it. So what may look like it makes no sense makes perfect sense, it is only someone else's shoes. He explained so much perfectly, like the bright light or static noise. I have been told so many times that I have X ray hearing, X ray eyesight, X ray nose and tastebuds, and jokingly called superhuman. It is exhausting when you live in a world of noise, brightness, colors, smells, and textures. For instance, not too long ago I had to leave a store because the smell of humans made me nauseated. I don't have autism but I do have ADD so if you know a kid with autism, Asperger, ADD, ADHD or OCD and other processing disorders that "acts weird" then remember that they are doing their very best.

[Frank Toland]

Thank you sooooooo much, I am a teacher that is involved a lot with pupils with autism and have learned a lot from the real experts of autism, the autistic people! On a personal note by a person who has studied genetics at University I now believe that autistic people are a gift to humanity. Yeah sure, nature and genetics sometimes go to the extreme end of producing human beings and therefore some people perceive those people at the extreme end of the scale as what autism is. This couldn't be further from the truth. Nature ( and genetics therefore) also produce amazing human beings that are indeed a gift to humanity. I for one will spend the rest of my life dedicated to changing the perceptions of how people see autism, I for one will spend my time educating myself on this topic so in some small way we can all learn to appreciate neurodiversity and indeed nature for all its experimentations.

[Lisel]

👏👏👏

[Cancelled Beans]

I was having a conversation with my sister about my own aspie traits just before watching this and it amazed me how many of the things I described to my sister were also described in this video. I'm so glad I'm not the only one with these experiences and traits.

[HelenaQuin]

And tendemcies toward self berating for mistakes..WHO KNEW!💜

[MartaS]

No worries, we are everywhere.. although according to the AANE, many of us "fly under the radar", as we "function sufficiently well to be considered merely eccentric or quirky".. Still, it shouldn't take 'eccentric' to notice that our current environment is crazy loud and annoying, fairly alive will do it

[John H]

Zhenya Baoighill, you are not alone.

[Unrepentant Soul]

Man, I’m not going to repeat what I said when you played those loud noises, but you got the point across even with no volume 😂 I’ve just been diagnosed with Autism at 29 and you seem like the only person that can vocalise how certain noises make me feel, you’re a legend! 🙌🏻

[Shadeed Ahmad]

I loved this presentation throughout. And it was exceedingly informative about the experience of autism. There's often no one better to speak on autism than someone who is autistic.

[Haven]

I'm autistic and I love him, he's such a sweet and smart guy. This was very relatable

[Living in Cape Town South Africa]

Me too

[Abdul Samad]

How old are? My 2 year old son is showing symptoms of autism

[Cookie Monster]

He understands something very essential and explains it well. More people need to hear this.

[Feather Jo]

This was brilliant on a 'show you what it's like' level and the introspective points on' judging' with 'the cycle of hatred' was presented on point The insight from autistic minds is... pure genius! Well done!

[cometdog4jesus]

This guy is a class act. I really loved this.

[Sharloom]

I stumbled upon this video when looks for Noah’s music. This is the first time I have ever been able to truly put past actions and feeling I have done/had into perspective. I don’t know if I can’t forgive myself but I try to channel my lack of self forgiveness into forgiveness for others. Thanks Noah.

[Not You]

I love how this entire talk is going through the steps to change your perspective on things and when your put into an uncomfortable place it's too off putting to not be warned. Man I wish I had a warning for everything that's uncomfortable in my life.

[HextyVision]

Loved every minute of this - very inspiring - to all not just aspergers

[Sarah Abramova]

95% Didn't like the sounds or the punishments.

[TheStreetGourmetz]

Love 98% of this video.. The other two is the random noises he suddenly put in

[coolpeips]

Thank you for this! My 5 yo is on the spectrum and this gives me so much hope. You are a standup person and so much to share with the world. Thank you for being you and letting the world in on you.

[Natalie]

I sent this to everyone who works with my son and all of my friends. This is the 4th talk about autism that I've watched and it was the most helpful out of all of them in terms of explaining what and why. I think most talks I've seen focus on being socially awkward and explain nothing about why my son might have a meltdown in a social setting. This was actually informative. THANKS!

[fluffyspunsugar]

This gives me hope for my son. I wish he could talk to this man, to give him hope for himself. Thank you for this talk.

[R Marin]

Awesome talk! Wish I had a psych professor as introspective and articulate as Noah when I was going for my degree.

[J Kaye]

Nearly smashed my bloody computer when the phone rang. Thanks for the effective diagnosis, Noah.

[BlackAfternoon]

Im about to track him down.

[Carmel DeMiranda née Conlon]

I loved the ending, I was hoping they would hug and it was so amazing. Love the humor there. Quite charming and infectious!

[Candace JB]

Thank you for this video... As a mom to an autistic child (4 years old and some spoken language) this video helps me understand my son more. He's very hypersensitive and stims alot and I had no idea what his triggers were. I come back to this video alot.

[Terrie M]

I had a professor who was autistic. After flunking numerical analysis 3 times with very interesting, animated teachers, I passed it the fourth. His delivery was very pedestrian, monotone, and didn't stray from the subject at all, and I finally passed it. ( I think I had psyched myself out because the typeface had unfamiliar Greek letters in an ornate form.) It was my last class before I graduated and was required.

[KAFI + STUDIO]

Wasn't prepared for the sound demo. Burst into tears. So correct.

[MilkN Honey]

You are so amazing I ❤️ hearing your voice and listening to what you have to say my 2.5yr old son has autism and it's been difficult so I'm trying to learn as much as possible. So thank you for sharing

[Ape Urson]

Thank you so much. I live in a closed world of shame I wish I could believe in the possibility of self forgiveness; maybe after your talk I can, at least a little bit more. The way you structured your talk was very effective, in me feeling really touched, and my deep concerns being understood. (Autistic, by the way. Though I think the same would apply to non autistic people) (I have the same thing with speech. I collect poetry books, I am however only really attracted to the nature of the language, even after nearly sixty years of this I am totally surprised when people talk about the ideas in poems; I am concerned with a synaesthetic abstract image of the quality of the language. It's actually the same with anything; take the example of a job, I fail to see what it will require, I'm more concerned with the synaesthetic impression I get. It is impossible to describe but for an example; RDO : brown furry torn edge some gaps. I have to think hard to assess if I can do it)

[Lit123ful]

I wish my son had this guy as a teacher. School didn’t go well at all.

[Navi]

8:48 this part made me cry. This is my everyday existence 😭. Hearing the awful noise is just what life feels like outside my “bubble” so to speak.

[Caroline Rourk]

What an incredible young man!

[Tella Phon]

This definitely needs a warning label on it for those of us who were actually already on the spectrum of autism and or has trouble with sensory inputs. It needs a warning. In the label so that it's not surprising to those of us who deal with the problem his talk demonstrates. Thanks. ❤️ I was driving!

[RedCloudBeechWaveAhh]

Thank you for this Noah. I learned some things about sensitivity and realized some things about how I listen to speech for intonation and rhythm and not for words and word-meaning... and that is interesting and helpful. Thanks also for bringing out the points about breaking the hate / anger / punishment cycle

[Dr Fluffy]

That talk is amazing, he is funny , intelligent and kind. And i think he is right: Hate against people that don't know how dangerous or selfish their behavior is, doesn't make this woirld and our life together easier or better. Hate only gets more hate as responds. I am also autistic and was not mistreat in the past. But i was a problematic child and even i didn't know why. After i became my diagnose with 36, my whole life started to make sense. Thx for this talk ;)

[Eilish Brennan]

i love this dude what a great human

[Rm Sf]

Forgiveness can free me from the stress without condoning what needs to be remedied. Thank you!

[Jessica Pasquerillo]

Love this, grateful for the opportunity to understand more and be a better friend. Thank you so much for sharing with us!

[lunar wisdom]

10:00 I literally had this experience in middle school, I got so upset that my friend told the boy that I liked that I liked him. I got so overwhelmed I punched her in the stomach so hard. I don't even remember what happened until my principal took me into her office and I felt so awful and cried at home for weeks.

[draco]

i like the way he responds to the lady when they were making their arguments for or against forgiving people. not to many people are able to respond the way he did.

[Ferovka]

Thank you for sharing your thoughts and experience. And thank you for showing that hate can creat more hate and that it can result in a vicious circle - and you really made a great point by comparing and putting into perspective the opposing sides. The whole speech was done really amazing. One small comment on a word that I personally think it could maybe be switched is the word “pity”. Rather than “pity” I would maybe say “compassion” (used quite often in buddhism) or maybe “understanding”. “Pity” for me, and my understanding, has more of a negative connotation, kind of looking down on someone. But please I don’t mean to disrespect with my comment, I really like your whole presentation and I think it is amazing! I just wanted to pony out something that stood out to me. I greatly appreciate your talk, thank you 😊

[E. Drenalin]

I first watched this probably a little less than 2 years ago, it changed my life... I have Asperger's and I know that now. Thank you ❤

[Kaylyn Webb]

This guy was clever with this & explaining what us autistic ppl go through even with the simplest of things

[Joanne Baskett]

Forgiveness is everything, but the rest of his message & story was nail, head, hammer, love this dude! ♥️

[Sandra Mccown]

Thanks, I teach psych in nursing school. I lecture on Autism tomorrow and this is the perfect video to show to my students. Thanks so much for sharing on such a feeling and personal level.........Sandra McCown BSRN

[Heather Hendrickson Jackson]

Thank you for this video! My ex-husband was borderline Asperger's. Our daughter I believe is as well. Listening to all things you talked about, I put a check mark in EVERY SINGLE example. She is 21 and the stress of life to her is real. She is very intelligent, but any kind of stress, causes her to shut down.

[BillieGote]

I can identify with your daughter. I hope she has been able to access the supports that help her manage stressful aspects as it can be overwhelming. Could you please reframe what you mean by "borderline" Asperger's? I'm afraid people might read that and think that it's possible to be "a little bit" Asperger's. Also, but not to confuse the issue, the DSM-5 has been revised to incorporate the older Asperger's diagnosis to be part of the autism spectrum, as they all refer to a neurotype. Just wanted to point out here that it's not neurologically possible to be a little autistic. When people word it like that, often what they're describing is how closely an autistic person is managing to appear neurotypical. That has more to do with masking and compensating behaviors, though. Just wanted to ask, and not presume to know for certain what you meant. Also, I understand that my question here is beside your point. Looks like your comment was four years ago; was your daughter or her father ever able to receive an official assessment and diagnosis?

[Humanist]

They should have never thought shocking people was a great idea. My LO is autistic and i saw the signs as early as 1yrs old but he was diagnosed at 3yrs old. Im just glad i was aware of these conditions to get him better help and take proper care to handle his behavior etc.. im just glad there are videos out here to make everyone else aware of children and adults that has ASD and stop stigmatism ☺️🤗

[Loni Williams]

Omg at 9:30 I had obvious stimming. Covered my ears and verbally shout over the noise. Loved this talk. The guilt 😔 😭 I forgive myself. I watched it twice consecutively.

[Rick Peralta]

THANK YOU for stepping up and speaking out! Your comments help us understand our children, especially the non-verbal who are the most "abused". P.S. Cool move with the girl!

[Ruth]

What a decent guy...he is incredible and Rachel's great too!

[Gaasuba Meskhenet]

I don't think there is only one correct way to talk to people doing something as detrimental as what you described happening in those schools. I think it helps to have both sides. You need the kind, calm individual to be able to explain patiently what needs to be said, but you don't want the response to be "well no one else seems to think this is wrong". Loud angry voices add weight to the calm, kind voices.

[mary Freerks]

Beautiful and yes i agree we do not need to punish someone for protecting themself Great talk!

[Brendan Wood]

The noise was annoying but I love you for raising awareness and educating us. Especially helping me to understand myself.

[Tookish]

That ending! XD He jammed their brains! What a hilarious way to show neurotypical people what being autistic can sometimes feel like.

[argosatori]

He's right, coming from a place of forgiveness and acceptance is always better than violent opposition. The missing component here is rerouting the behavior through sublimation and leading by example. Only when they understand that there is no need for punishment in the first place and to know what is truly happening with each child as real, little people will the punishers stop. I can relate to everything he's saying especially that body restriction thing. I was diagnosed ADHD since a kid but I strongly suspect autism and sensory processing disorder as well. Good self sooth for me is music in motion or meditation in motion. Gimme a tall(non-squeaking) swing at the swing-set at the park..can go all day and night..

[Meadowswife]

Seldom have I seen a such well executed speech with so many valid points and examples. Excellent done!

[A H]

I absolutely loved this!!! Thank you.

[Rm Sf]

"Blame keeps wounds open. Only forgiveness heals." - Thomas S. Monson

[Kayden Break]

My therapist recommended me this video and I have no regrets watching it

[Sargon Kennedy]

You are brilliant, sincere, genuine, and caring. God bless you!

[Brenda Tan]

Noah, thank you for your awesome, inspiring and enlightening video helping normal people to understand autistic people better🤗🤗. Great job, Noah👏👏💐💐!

[Taiweannoona]

Loved your talk. Awesome job!👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼

[YogawChris]

Game changer! Thank you for the phenomenal talk!

[Flávio]

I can relate so much to the way he thinks. I know it's wierd doing nothing and I understand him. But I still think there should be done something about any issue, but in smarter ways than to scream what you think and hope everyone end up thinking like you.

[Shannon Kringen]

thanks for this unique talk. totally refreshing points you are making.

[Sayusayme🦋]

Your explanation of protesting is amazing, thank you for your beautiful words. ♥️

[James Heumann]

I love this speaker. Understands all around. Understands charity.

[Jason Sacks]

From my own experience with ASD, I appreciate this very much and I agree. I have felt much anger in coming to grips, especially since I did not know I was on the spectrum until very recently at the age of 46. There is a lot of hate that I could not let go of your points are what I needed at the right time. Thank you and bless you.

[Joe Mar]

How to come to terms once you find out you may be on said spectrum? my twin daughters were diagnosed with ASD 3 years ago, they are 6 - This is something I'm still dealing with, the pain, the uncertainty about their future..... Come to find out, based on several videos/including this one, and I will see an specialist right away - I may be on the same boat. Thank you for commenting and be blessed

[JO HEDGES]

LOVED the ending! i will smile all day when I think of this

[BillieGote]

"[We] don't deserve to be judged that harshly." Exactly what I would like others around me to understand, when they think it is acceptable to yell and berate me for their perception of why I do something or how I choose to live my life. More importantly, I wish those same people would stop to recognize where exactly their judgments come from and if it's more about believing someone else's biased opinion rather than their direct experience with me.

[Julia & Julian]

Best teacher I have ever had!

[Mario Lopez]

His voice is so beautiful

[NoahfromAspergersAreUs]

Hadn't watched my talk in 9 years. It's damn good!

[starfoxz55]

It's very good thank you for doing it

[julie clifford]

Nice. I’m 56 and just discovered this is my difference… so great to understand ♥️

[Joyce Elmer]

Thank you for your message 💕

[Katheryn Taylor]

Thank you for explaining how I feel about everything

[B Noll]

Thank you so much for this video. I needed to hear everything you said.

[Mornieluvya C.]

I’d love to have him in my daily life:)

[Selenagz20 selena2021]

God bless you, Noah.

[Piano Man2]

That was a very touching speech you gave. Furthermore, I know some psychotropic drugs help people with autism because I have autism, and they help me tremendously. I also know of other people with autism who it helps. Of course, not all psych drugs are helpful but a lot of them are.

[julie clifford]

Mushrooms yes…. Big Pharma drugs many have had bad effects… some seemed good tho more I numbed things when I would rather learn to listen to the emotions and work with them… and not the side effects of drugs and affects alertness… xo

[Andrea hodson]

i have autism and adhd and have microdosed on m.mush with great results..

[Aspie With Attitude]

Using electric shocks on aspies should be banned! Covering your own ears over irritating noise such as sirens, car alarms and microphone feedbacks is nowhere near bad behaviour. I stand against the use of electric shocks to be used on people who are on the autism spectrum, that's torture.

[Fernanda Martinelli]

@N O Yes, it is so true

[N O]

Ed Grimm no, communicating isn’t going to work. The people doing this are in too damn deep to realise what they’re doing is wrong. What we need is legal action to make sure they cant do it, then arrest them if they continue. I agree talking is better than screaming, but in this case no amount of evidence or saying “this is wrong, here’s why” is going to make them stop abusing children.

[Ed Grimm]

I feel like we could leave out the qualifier. Using electric shocks on people should be banned. Full stop. But I think Noah is right that it's better to try to stop this with communication rather than hate.

[Wanda Lee]

Aspie With Attitude , I had no idea this was still a practice! I was horrified by videos we watched in psychology class of autistic children wearing helmets and being strapped in a chair with over stimulating surroundings and being squirted with water, and others being shocked into submission. I had no idea that this was still allowed to happen.

[Lisa Farrell]

Perfect. Thank you. Genius yes. I also get very tearful when the noise is too much.

[MissFroggy]

Inspired with Noah. He can help people with autism which means someday maybe i will too. Having pdd-nos and struggling but always having a big heart for people struggling too.

[seatbelttruck]

Heh. It might have been a good idea to warn us that there would be irritating noises in this. I can relate to that stuck headphones thing (though with a different trigger). I have a fight-or-flight response when somebody taps me on the shoulder. It makes it really awkward when somebody is just trying to get my attention, but I can't prevent myself from stiffening, whirling and snapping at them to not touch me. I apologize and explain afterward, and so far nobody has been to upset about it, but still. I also startle really easily, but so does my non-autistic mother. His last melt-down was in middle school? Lucky... The heck? I thought shock-punishment was only in media anymore. Yech. Those guys really need to do a little research on autism... And be shut down. I do like him wrapping it in forgiveness. It's easy to let anger get the better of you, and I admit I'd probably be raving if he hadn't said that. This sort of thing needs to be stopped. But hating won't do that. This is a very heart-warming speech. I think I'll favorite it :)

[Elaine Scott]

This was an excellent and thought-provoking talk. I liked the openness with which the presenter talked about 'mistakes' he had made in life - I was also not so sure it was as nightmarish a mistake as it feels. Setting appropriate boundaries is something, we all have to learn how to do and what can you do, if someone repeatedly refuses your request to observe appropriate boundaries? Outcome-wise, the presenter gained a friend for life, that maybe wouldn't have happened any other way. Respect for boundaries is something that should be taught by parents and schools, I think. I think that when things go 'wrong' in life, it is often easy for the world to identify one cause and then stop looking. In my experience, behaviour which seems to be intended to hurt others often has multifactorial causes. If you only identify one cause, you may end up with the severe punishments, which the presenter talked about. This was horrendous and reminded me of Milgram's experiments. I am sure it must be an infringement of human rights. Unfortunately, this problem can become institutional and then the problem is that people who would like to do things differently never apply or they are there already and leave. Problems with multifactorial causes need multifactorial solutions. To my mind, you should not stop looking when you identify the first cause, because you may not see a more fundamental problem, which could lead to the same outcome and you may not spot a simple solution. I am interested in ways of solving difficult problems. I was aware that reactance would occur, if I opposed something, so I held a party to talk about the problem instead. I gave the participants goody bags, had balloons and music and stories about the benefits of doing something a different way. I even wore fancy dress and tried to make them laugh, because these people are both embarrassed and scared of admitting what they were doing. I find I cannot be scared if I am laughing: I learned this at that party, because I was really scared of the angry top people. It didn't succeed the way I hoped it would and they had me labelled as mentally ill and sent the police out after me - another scary situation, but I would do it again. I didn't hurt them, but I did my best. A solution, which it might be worth considering to deal with the issue presented in this case might be start an alternative institution in the area run by people with autism for people with autism. The successes from such an institution would be way higher, parents would want to send their autistic children there and funding would probably follow. To start with it might be possible to find a crowd-funding source or a benefactor. I'll send you £50 British pounds to start, if you want to give it a go - sorry, I'm not a multi-millionaire. Thank you for such an excellent talk.

[Levmann Pe]

love his voice and way of talking even though his pacing back and forth is hard to watch. also im not autistic but can relate so well to some of the things he's mentioning, like 8:00 for example. also when the sound appeared i almost got a heart attack even though i knew it was coming WTF isnt the hating when his body movement is distracted contradictory to like being hugged? being hugged when busy can be super annoying

[Julien Mehiri]

Thank you so much for this intense and beautiful talk and reminder that we are all human. Great Talk . I hope we can all learn to accept our flaws and forgive ourselfs when, whe react in a overstimulated way . I hope we accept autism as a other way of personality and not treat as a disease , which should be erased.

[Annette Genis]

Thank you so much - for the first time I really learn to understand my grandchild!! Thanks again!!

[hans]

Thank you for helping me forgive myself. I feel tremendously better now.

[Phil Follett]

Beautiful and amazing insight.

[maarakailet1]

Gah! Why did this video have to come out so long ago. His point at the end is the exactly thing I tell my co-workers! Well, not about the not shocking, but about standing up for yourself, and just doing things the right way instead of the instructed wrong way.

[Alex Wilder]

Oh god oh god I can't stop laughing at the ending that was so worth it!!!!! What an excellently funny way to reveal that "yes, she is a plant" oh man 1000 points!

[K B]

What this guy is saying makes sense. Do what works, not what just makes you feel better! Emotions muck so much up that it's a wonder so-called "normal" people get anything done!

[Deborah Jones]

You are the one who is right this needs to stop. It is so sad how closed minded. People are. This is not a solution I hope someday your words will be heard by all. It was brave what you are doing people need to be better educated with special needs people. You are making a difference. Thank you God bless.

[Railmaster008]

So spot on and truthful! #Autwareness

[amjPeace]

Noah, you remind me so much of my son with your passion, mannerisms, and way of talking. How did he grow to be 31 without my recognizing that he is blessed with ASD?

[Andrea Rider]

My name is Noah

[Hope but you can call me CaPoDiTuTtiCaPi311]

Big hugs to you Noah. I really enjoyed this video.

[સમસ્ત માળી સમાજ સમુહ લગ્નનોત્સવ સમિતિ થરાદ]

Hope but you can call me CaPoDiTuTtiCaPi311 FYI guiooo

[Luke Crocker]

Wow, I have a ton in common with this man.

[Ayesha Karim]

I am forgiven and I forgive people who hurt my feelings or for whatever reason are trying to harm me. I really like myself.

[Living in Cape Town South Africa]

I’m trying too

[Ruth Giles]

As the partner of an autistic man, the moment when Noah spoke about his extreme reaction to his mother (You're driving me crazy) and her reply "But I don't know what I am doing wrong!" rang such a bell! Sometimes it is just as much of a struggle for a neuro-typical to get their heads around what's happening in the neuro-divergent mind as it is for the autistic person to understand why their behaviour is misunderstood! One minute everyone is on the same page and the next we are all talking at crossed purposes without knowing at what point the trap sprung or why!