Autistic Not Alien | 'You laughin' at me?'

I like a good laugh but I draw the line at medical professionals making fun of autism. In this video, I respond to an individual who has multiple qualifications and yet not a single clue about how inaccurate and offensive his video about autism is.
Twitter: x.com/NeilLaur...
Website: neillaurenson.... (Poetry, politics, and other random musings.)
My other KZbin channel: / @neillaurenson1270 (a medley of music, poetry, podcast episodes, and attempts at humour.)
Soundcloud: / vitalphaze (House music made in the house.)
RECOMMENDED CHANNELS
Adult with Autism: / @adultwithautism
Autistic Jenny: / @autisticjenny
For enquiries and general contact, email: [e-mail]
Credit: Filip Mroz, Gage Walker, Gautier Salles, Kaley Dykstra, Mark Adriane, Mark Williams, Mona Eendra, National Library of Medicine, Neelakshi Singh, Neried Ndreu, Rob Laughter, and Yogi Purnama - all unsplash.com/

[@username46100]

Wow, that "professional" is so willfully ignorant, his material is so harmful. Thanks for this video, Neil!

[@AutisticNotAlien]

I think he arrogantly assumed that autism could just be another string to his medical bow.

[@redhawkredhawk77com]

The train at the end is definitely a cherry on top of this video!

[@AutisticNotAlien]

Can't resist cherries. 😋

[@username46100]

I thought that the video was done when it went to black ... OMG, the end scene is hilarious! 😄

[@AutisticNotAlien]

@@username46100 Ha ha! I was going to write some dialogue, but sometimes less is definitely more.

[@username46100]

@@AutisticNotAlien I'm craving a croissant. 🥐 😜

[@AutisticNotAlien]

@@username46100 😋

[@autisticMargo]

Lol 😂 there is a quirky smell coming through my computer screen. Excellent video. Thank you for thwarting bigotry.

[@AutisticNotAlien]

Thank you very much for endorsing my efforts. 'Thwarting bigotry' - yes!

[@hicottontail]

Great video as always! His part of the video where he talked about being autistic as "just quirks" really shocked me; and what you said about it really summed up how I felt too.

[@AutisticNotAlien]

It's just so, so invalidating. We spend decades not being understood, finally understand ourselves, then so-called experts dismiss our discovery and struggles as...quirks. Appalling.

[@sanfordcurtis8242]

Absolutely NO-ONE drinks shandy during Freshers Week. The writer was also out of his depth on that point 😂

[@AutisticNotAlien]

I think the shandies reference was a 'joke' within the 'joke'.

[@stephaniealexandra5142]

Another excellent video 😊 I love how you get your point across with such wit and humour

[@AutisticNotAlien]

Thank you very much, Stephanie. I do try... It depresses me to think that the doctor genuinely tried to be funny and informative. I guess failure and humour are both subjective.

[@stephaniealexandra5142]

Well I didn't find what he said funny at all. However I do like how you turned it around to raise awareness of his bigotry and ignorance.

[@AutisticNotAlien]

@@stephaniealexandra5142 I thought it was really cringe, and I say this as someone who writes dad jokes as a hobby (you may have seen some in my videos). Someone's gotta fight the bigotry. Silence is complicity an' all that.

[@jo45]

Bullying is considered ‘funny’ to him, but we are the ones struggling with empathy? Is he even aware of the number of ironies in his statements?

[@AutisticNotAlien]

@@jo45 Thank you - very validating for me to read this, as I started to wonder whether I obscured my rage with too much humour. I'm pretty sure he didn't mean to offend, but bullying doesn't rely on the intent of the antagonist.

[@KittyInTheGarden]

Well said, as always.

[@AutisticNotAlien]

Thank you, Kitty.

[@tims9434]

I agree with you 100% so refreshing. Good on you for raising awareness.

[@AutisticNotAlien]

Thank you for your encouragement, Tim. I'm trying my best to challenge nonsense and raise awareness (while having fun at the same time, because why not.)

[@autisticjenny]

Yaasss. Another Neil video! Looking forward to watching this!

[@AutisticNotAlien]

I hope it's as stunningly informative and witty as the previous ones. 😉

[@grooviechickie]

That guy sounds like a complete %$^$& swears in Australian #$%$^&*

[@AutisticNotAlien]

Everything about it is awful - right down to the AI-generated thumbnail.

[@grooviechickie]

Oh no! I had a quick look at the video and then I read the comments... there was some wanker who was talking about "over-diagnosis". How could I not respond? Yet again, Note To Self: don't read the comments section on awful videos. And certainly do NOT respond. 😅😂

[@AutisticNotAlien]

@@grooviechickie You could spend all your free time to responding to such comments. It's so demoralising, isn't it? I suppose the standard response is: it's not over-diagnosis, it's better recognition & understanding.

[@gwynstuart]

This is exactly why I would be afraid to have myself diagnosed by a “professional”. Spending all that money and not even feeling confident that the “professional” knows what he’s doing! So frustrating!! But I enjoyed your humor and funny facial expressions so much. And the ending with you and your little train 🤣😂🤣Thanks!

[@AutisticNotAlien]

My autism assessor made me feel awful, but plenty of people have a positive assessment experience. As the saying goes: if you've met one autism assessor, you've met one autism assessor.

[@NitFlickwick]

I can’t count the number of times my wife chastised me for taking my trains to bed with us over the course of our 31 year marriage. Obviously, the good doctor is right that we will always struggle.

[@AutisticNotAlien]

I don't think he's a good doctor - not in relation to autism, anyway. I think his video is evidence that he's based his understanding of autism on some re-heated stereotypes. We all struggle in relationships.

[@kensears5099]

What an amazing coincidence. I just stumbled upon his video, that very one, a day or two ago, and watched some of it. It gave me a creepy feeling, a bit like that utterly obnoxious fast-talking KZbin advert with the guy pushing the "Silva Method" with all the charm of an Amway "distributor" trying to wrangle you into his pyramid. (Why is it a rule, as it seems to be, that KZbin adverts must be chalk-squeaking excruciating?) So anyway, I had mixed feelings, to say the least, and wasnn't sure whether I'd revisit his stuff to watch it through. Now I know: I won't.

[@AutisticNotAlien]

Yeah, me too. Creepy feeling. Made me feel 'the ick' about my own autism - just utterly, ludicrously dehumanising. Plenty of better, more accepting, more informative autism videos available.

[@nicksandel5588]

I really enjoy your jokes. Smelling bs through the computer was a great one 😂 keep up the good work these videos are brilliant 👍

[@AutisticNotAlien]

Thank you very much, Nick. I pinched the computer joke from Brass Eye (Chris Morris/Armando Iannucci).

[@lauraburystedmundsyoga8231]

@@AutisticNotAlien I thought it was familiar! I absolutely loved Brass Eye & The Day Today - 90s comedy gold.

[@AutisticNotAlien]

@@lauraburystedmundsyoga8231 They're still brilliant, aren't they?

[@lauraburystedmundsyoga8231]

@@AutisticNotAlien I love the whole "Cake" skit & I'm still amazed they got it mentioned in Parliament 🤣

[@AutisticNotAlien]

@@lauraburystedmundsyoga8231 Yep, egos gonna trump logic so many times...The 'smells like hammers' line is brilliant. It's all brilliant.

[@BlueRoseHelen252]

Thank you for the light hearted look at a not such an amusing topic. These so called experts need to go back to school I think! Excellent video. 😊

[@AutisticNotAlien]

Thank you, Helen. I'm sure the doctor is exceptionally well-informed on all manner of things that I know nothing about...but autism? Nope. I am autistic, I am not just another topic to make a jokey video about.

[@russc67]

Anyone that puts 19 letters after their name just looks like they are trying too hard to impress. "And to a lesser degree, he wants to take over the world." Um.... Okay. 🤔

[@AutisticNotAlien]

He's not going to take over the world by only dehumanising autistic people...

[@lovelyrainflowerfarm]

“autism can exacerbate the underlying propensity towards violence” - what? “a subtle symptom that you have autism is the smell of a croissant is intoxicating” I was going to list all the statements that were absolutely absurd… But they’re too many.

[@AutisticNotAlien]

Indeed - "What?" I'll tell you what might exacerbates someone's propensity towards violence, and that's ill-informed & harmful videos about autism. Oh, and the croissant one was probably meant to be adorably witty and came across as irritatingly absurd. Yep, too many daft statements to respond to.

[@gamer-8955]

Another absolutely brilliant video. You make me laugh so much. I really click with your sarcasm. And your funny script is a great way to educate people, in my opinion. Keep at it, dude. You are doing a swell job 👍🥳

[@AutisticNotAlien]

Thank you so much - comments like yours keep me going. Really appreciate you taking the time to share encouragement.

[@imaginative6315]

'The smell of croissants is intoxicating' Bro I'm not the one intoxicated

[@AutisticNotAlien]

Ha ha! Indeed. Not sure what the doc was smelling when he made that video.

[@theresapizza]

Your comedic timing is excellent 👌 Thank you for this you made me laugh and feel better about myself. I think Willful Misunderstanding is a good band name. First single? Takin My Trains To Bed. I imagine it like Gary Numan's We Put Mystery To Bed. 😊

[@AutisticNotAlien]

Thank you so much. I'm so pleased that I made you laugh *and* feel better about yourself. Great band name and single title. It works for pretty much anything, doesn't it? "...and at no.142, it's Dodgy Psychiatrist with their awful dirge, 5 Signs of Autism..."

[@jamesnock5572]

Wow book me in with this psychiatrist immediately😂🙌

[@AutisticNotAlien]

Yes, if you - yes, YOU! - want to be mocked and dehumanised, go and see the man with 19 letters after his name, which are all meaningless in their current order.

[@bhutjolokia6990]

🐄 💩🥳 If this guy doesn't show up on my feed this week I would be shocked but will seek him out if not. I can have fun with him from a naive autistic kind of way🤔🤭😂 I like psychological games best, it's very stimulating to me!!🥳🥳 Thanks for the quirky laughs with autistic humor🤔🤭👀 This comment should transfer this information into my long term memory but only time will tell if that will work!!🤔🤣🤣 My adhd likes to mess with me, it's stimulating to put myself into panic!!🤣🤣👻🤪🌶🤘😎♾️

[@AutisticNotAlien]

Feel free to challenge the doctor!

[@bhutjolokia6990]

@@AutisticNotAlien you know you just challenged me to do so.🤣🤣👻🤪🌶🤘😎♾️

[@SebSha0]

Kinda triggering, thanks for making light of this ridicule. Underrated content my guy, breaking stigmas with clever humour! Keep speaking our thoughts

[@AutisticNotAlien]

Thank you so much for your encouragement. It is triggering, sadly - on this occasion, I had the energy to challenge the hurtful nonsense.

[@foxliasgriffinYT]

i always was more connected to animals, i never liked ppl even as a kid and i never understood how ppl couldn't relate to it lol! i remember even talking to my classmates abt it, they were very weirded out it can def be easier to understand animals, they may have more predictable behaviours and arent gonna judge you for being different since they have no bias towards enabled, disabled or any other person i esp know cats the most and spent my whole life with minimum of one. and honestly my knowlege pays off as all my cats have grown incredibly trusting of me and we know eachothers boundaries and how to communicate eachothers requests

[@AutisticNotAlien]

I would rather talk to a dog or disclose to a frog or confide in a chicken or divulge to a budgie or relate to a snake or reveal to an eel or tell a gerbil how I really feel than seek understanding from someone who believes that autistic people are less human than they are.

[@foxliasgriffinYT]

@@AutisticNotAlien absolutely true, its very common to feel dehumanised, it can leave such a lonely feeling within you im sk thankful to have kther neurodiverse friends, even got to meet two irl who may be autistic, not to mention my family being mostly neurodivergent aswell even if most refuse to admit or be open about that possibility :)

[@AutisticNotAlien]

@@foxliasgriffinYT I understand why people, autistic or not, would prefer to spend time with animals than with other people. But I don't think animals understand autism...Happy to be corrected though!

[@LateDiagnosedAutism]

Of course, animals are far better at showing love. They don't judge us or make us feel inferior. They just want to be loved, and we also want to be loved. If that means an animal, I would rather be with my cats over humans.

[@grooviechickie]

Yes! 💗

[@LateDiagnosedAutism]

@@grooviechickie I just subscribe to your channel 😁

[@grooviechickie]

​@@LateDiagnosedAutism it's nothing special, just random stuff of when we lived in France. 😂

[@LateDiagnosedAutism]

@@grooviechickie I have family in France😻.

[@OLDE_SHYTE]

He’s one of these showboating “academics” like Dr Todd (delusions of) Grande(ur).

[@AutisticNotAlien]

It would be fine if the 'information' was correct and useful. But to treat autism as KZbin fodder is to treat autistic people with contempt.

[@bryanjurish5433]

I'm sad that you had to engage with that yahoo's video deeply enough to form a coherent response ... but man, that is one awesome response indeed. Also, I'm personally very happy with the recurring bovine theme 🐄

[@AutisticNotAlien]

Thank you. I felt compelled to engage with it. It's just a big creepy bowl of wrongness. I *needed* to call it out. Anyway, I'm glad you enjoyed the a-moo-sing cow motif.

[@DeeOdzta]

I tip my hat to you good sir, the "doctor" has clearly demonstrated himself as an ignoramus.

[@AutisticNotAlien]

Thank you. Yep, he thought he could just repeat autism stereotypes as KZbin fodder without any consequence. In fact, that's probably true - he's responded to none of the comments I've made, and he's deleted some of them. Probably going about his day feeling like a champion with all those letters after his name, oblivious to the hurt he's caused.

[@matthewwilliams1187]

I guess you forgot about me....

[@AutisticNotAlien]

Hi Matthew. Sorry if you've messaged me elsewhere and I haven't replied. I'm struggling to keep up with messages. If you email me, it's easier for me to keep track.

[@AutisticNotAlien]

P.S. My email address is in the video description.

[@TheAutisticRebel]

Wow... I LOVE this stuff. Have to fight 💩with 🔥as they say! What a 🤡this guy is. Thank you... for your funny and informative video!

[@AutisticNotAlien]

Thank you, Jo. Loving the perfect emojis!

[@dallemon15]

I do not completely understand this video but it is still an interesting one. Your use of "autistic traits" may be very helpful.

[@AutisticNotAlien]

Thank you for your comments. If you're willing to share, I'd be interested to know what parts of the video you think I could make clearer.

[@dallemon15]

@@AutisticNotAlien Some at least, of the content is becoming clearer upon a second viewing. The disagreement among the referenced psychiatrist with others helps to focus on the oppositional goals of pathologizing autistic traits and identifying these traits as Differences to NOT be pathologized. I should continue to view more of the video again.

[@dallemon15]

@@AutisticNotAlien At about three minute mark through three and a half minute mark, I am confused.

[@dallemon15]

@@AutisticNotAlien The sarcasm-mean-funny discussion I am confused.

[@AutisticNotAlien]

@@dallemon15 Yes, that's it. The doctor assumes autistic differences are deficits.

[@pikmin4743]

thanks for a great video! sounds like dr das and joe rogan would get along. turds

[@AutisticNotAlien]

Thank you. As an autistic person, it makes me so annoyed that people can spread misinformation and somehow be rewarded for it.

[@tiffanylbacon]

I would not be as calm as you are talking about this video. Glad I haven't seen it. I might have been prone to violence (me being sarcastic, I''m NOT a violent person)

[@AutisticNotAlien]

I get cross just thinking about that video. 7,000 views when I last checked. Ten times the amount of people who have watched my response. *sigh*

[@tiffanylbacon]

@@AutisticNotAlien what makes a NT person an expert on ND people?! How are people not questioning the validity of that “expert”? He’s not autistic so how would he know what’s it’s like? I wish I was better at videos because I would definitely do a reaction video. I just started my channel (sort of).

[@AutisticNotAlien]

@@tiffanylbacon Exactly. It's like me doing a video about being tall. What's it like to be tall? What are the challenges and benefits? I don't really know because I'm not tall. Good luck with your channel, and let me know if I can help (not that I'm an expert! I'm only an expert in autism because I'm autistic.)

[@spectrum_outl13r]

👏👏👏

[@lauraburystedmundsyoga8231]

Should I tell the autistic clinical psychologist who spent over 6 hours interviewing me, then ran the results past a panel of experts before giving me my diagnosis, that she should have told me I just had "personality quirks"?! 🙄 ps the blond wig really didn't suit you!! 🤣

[@AutisticNotAlien]

Indeed. Hey, why not just attribute everything to 'quirks'? "What's that about the unequal distribution of wealth across the whole globe? Nothing to do with sociopathic leaders - it's just QUIRKS!" Perhaps not the best daft example, as otherwise we'll start grouping autism with much more unpleasant neurological states, and then we'll be back to square one... P.S. What blonde wig? 😉

[@LateDiagnosedAutism]

😂😂the smell of 💩is so strong you can smell it thru the computer😂😂

[@AutisticNotAlien]

Yep. (Confession: gag borrowed from Brass Eye.)

[@LateDiagnosedAutism]

@@AutisticNotAlien 😻😻

[@MaryKDayPetrano]

Good video.

[@AutisticNotAlien]

Thank you, Mary.

[@mikko.g]

😀

[@cathalhex7948]

Your comic skills destroyed this vile rubbish. Cheers

[@AutisticNotAlien]

Ha ha! Thank you. Changing the world through laughter...one tiny KZbin video at a time...

[@RuthAtkinsonNita]

He sucks, not only in his professional capacity to understand a complex subject but also as a content creator. I've pulled academic paragraphs out of my a@$ that had more flair.

[@AutisticNotAlien]

I think he thought, 'I need to keep churning out content. Ooh, autism - that'll do!' I'm clearly facetious now and then, but the doctor is on a different, harmful level. Your funny comment about academic paragraphs reminded me of a line in Stranger Things: 'You can take your complaint and file it up my a@$!' Best laugh I've had all year.

[@RuthAtkinsonNita]

@AutisticNotAlien I love that series. I drove my husband crazy because I insisted on binge watching season one in one night after I watched one episode and got fixated. 😆 After that, HE got fixated on buying me anything he saw that was related to it. I had to reel him in, his co-opting my fixation was killing mine. 😅

[@AutisticNotAlien]

@@RuthAtkinsonNita Series 1 of Stranger Things is brilliant. It demands to be binge-watched. I completely understand your husband's gesture - the love is strong with Stranger Things.

[@WoohooliganComedy]

❤️‍🩹