Playing to Our Strengths: Neurodiversity & Education | Christy Hutton | TEDxSantaCruz

[@brrradley1]

This is the most underrated talk on TED.

[@danieladeagbo2059]

I particularly love her last sentence, "And without resilience, we'll continue to fail."

[@AutismInColor]

As a current high school student with autism I feel empowered watching this video. There have been times where I was discouraged by others to challenge myself, to be myself. At school we have guest speakers that talk about bullying, mental health, we are now finally starting to discuss LGBTQA issues in class but, I would like to see a discussion on neurodiversity. It is important that both staff and students are aware of neuro-divergent learners in the classroom. Having autism neurotypicals are natural psychologists pointing who is the "weirdo. " I am called this a lot by my peers. They take note that I take a longer time to complete assignments and one student said to me that "there is really no point in catching up" one time. My APS ( Intro to Anthroplology, Psychology, and Sociology) teacher described autism as a disease in a very stereotypical way, overlooking how diverse the autism spectrum is. I don't blame him as staff aren't really well informed on ASD in their training. I would like people to know that we are more alike than we are different as we are all human.

[@chrystiamy]

Thank you for your perspective, Ariel. It pains me to hear your story, not only because you don't deserve to be treated this way, but because it is the story of so many. You have many gifts to offer this world and autism is neither a disease nor a handicap--it's just a set of gifts that we have decided to group into a category. The world needs the autistic neurotype, whether we acknowledge it or not in the educational setting. If I can ever be any help to you, please don't hesitate to reach out.

[@AutismInColor]

Christine Hutton Thank you for taking the time read my story. The hardest part is self acceptance as I am used to hearing that I am basically not good enough from bullies, peers, my family, etc. But I never had anyone to challenge that opinion that sadly it became a fact in my mind that I am the problem when really that's not true. Keep up the great work by continuing to educate others on how it is ok to be different!

[@oliviadrinkwine1411]

@@AutismInColor yes it is ok to be different. And I also got bullied a lot in elementary and part of middle school (i was in private school at that time) for me also being autistic. Now I'm trying to change the narrative and teach people that being autistic is ok.

[@haleyhowell7889]

I'm so sorry you're having to go through this. Fortunately, understanding of neurodiversity is becoming more normative, so in the near future we will be much better understood. High school and grade school in general consists of the 'general population'-- and people in general do not care to learn more than they have to. 'Normal' people want to do what is required and move on without delving into the details of life-- additionally, most people are not very smart. Best of luck to you, it does get better once you have independence and a little more choice of whom you are going to spend your time around.

[@masonnix9566]

How is this video empowering?

[@ElizabethLopez-hx6xv]

I was recently reading an article on autism in which the stance was that while 'solutions' to autism were fine and dandy, the mindset that autism was something that needed curing was all wrong. I was so stuck in the thinking of normal=best suited to life and autistic=not as suited to life that I simply could not come to terms with the opinion. I swear it all clicked into place as my eyes scanned across the word "neurodiversity". I found it to be such a beautiful word. Now that I understand it is mind-boggling that we are allowing people to be pushed back for thinking differently. Thinking, probably *the* *most* intimate and personal function. What makes us who we are. I really enjoyed the talk, thanks for spreading awareness!

[@chrystiamy]

+Elizabeth Lopez Thank you for this perspective, Elizabeth. It took me a long time working with these students to realize that there was really nothing wrong with them. Time-limited assessments provide a barrier to too many people for no good reason.

[@Moonz-f3k]

I could not agree more.Something similar happened to me recently..

[@waanaabe-4795]

It's nice to hear that people like you make the effort to understand this all on their own... it usually takes something happening in the immediate family for people to take notice and re-think the word "normal". I'm not "normal" but also believed that normal was "best suited for life", in a Darwinian way. It's hard not to, the entirety of society is built on that presumption. But "NORMAL MEN" built our society. Or rather became whatever men of means thought and could do- after all, men of color, all women and children were not even "people" 200 years ago! now it's time for everyone else to word how society should go! and it's had to think we could do worse :)

[@davidk7529]

The school system needs to be reformed, absolutely, but I feel that we need to consider what can and should be done for all of the adults' lives that have wasted away because of the constant failure of the older systems that were forced upon them. Even fully developed adults have decades left in their lifetime and as much potential to apply their unique skill sets, but even today remain stuck in the rut of a society that still insists on forcing them to act a certain way, to hold certain credentials within limited sets of standards, and to perform according to extremely narrow metrics of productivity, often with little more dignity than a simple machine. Many of us are still wasting our would-be spectacular minds, and are doomed to spend the rest of our lives being uhappy because of these inappropriate limits on what makes us who we are and what makes a vibrant, enjoyable human society. Throughout history, it has always been those whacky, unappreciated outliers among us that have brought the most radical change when it was needed most. What we need is not a system that simply coddles unique people, trying desperately to find better ways to make them fit in. We need a society that recognizes and _fully_ empowers them to use their strengths, because at this point in our history, all those outliers may be our only hope.

[@trentmcnair7600]

Great talk! We need to do a lot less shaming and embrace the diversity of our beautiful, young, creative minds.

[@chrystiamy]

+Trent The shaming has never made sense to me. All of our children deserve better.

[@owenbevt3]

'accommodations' don't just fail because of the negative implications but because they often don't accommodate the students way of doing things or what they want. I'm dyslexic and drove people mad at uni by not making use of the proof readers my 'accommodation' gave me, they expected me to stop reserching all my essays a few days early then go pick though it word by word with someone pointing out and helping me correct every spelling mistake. I was like 'na - I'm hear to learn my subject, not to have yet another person fail to teach me how to spell' eventually after a year and a half of arguments we reached a compromise where they would get it just good enough for the professors to be able to read without taking a disproptionate amount of time away from my lerning.

[@chrystiamy]

owenbevt3 I'm so glad you had the strength to fight for your right to an education. So few students feel that they can advocate for themselves, but I welcome the opportunity to work with one who does. Thanks for the comment.

[@davidk7529]

Good point. You had the right idea. Everyone else was just going through the motions without caring about effectiveness or priorities.

[@pavlosfteropetra777]

They call it ADHD, Aspergers - Autism, I call it an expression on the cutting edge of human evolutionary development

[@chickenpie9698]

I find it interesting that this is so focused on education. I agree as a teacher that things need to change, at least in places I've worked and taught. The other side for me is the workplace. We can do all we can to foster a helpful environment for neurodivergent students but at some point they are going to leave the education system and in some way will need to fend for themselves. I kmow some workplaces are better at this than others gut it does seem that no matter how you accommodate for someone, they still have the same expectations of an individual but I do question whether that is fair for everyone

[@ellygreen244]

I was bullied out of using my accommodations in highschool because a girl had told people that my IEP was false, and my classmates tried to keep me from using them for things like standardized testing. And it's so messed up and sad. I never want my children to go through that.

[@chrystiamy]

I've heard too many stories like this. Even some teachers struggle to understand how their most achieved students could need more time on tests. I'm very sorry this happened to you and we aren't yet in a place where I don't fear it for my children. I hope you did take advantage of your accommodations for standardized testing--it's absolutely fair for you to do so.

[@pandulka1]

love it! especially the part : we have to have courage to define success differently !!!

[@jackday4529]

Thank you Christy!

[@claudiomarinho3510]

Dear Christy, Really amazing speech. Congratulations. My son will start at Kirby this year and I am really glad to begin this new non-standard journey! :)

[@sunalock675]

Great job Christy. The whole system needs to be reformed reflect a more diverse, inclusive education model. The current standards squander these brilliant minds!

[@weekinneurodiversity2241]

+Suna Lock It is time for society to embrace neurodiversity for the benefit of ALL of us!

[@chrystiamy]

+Suna Lock I totally agree! Squander is exactly the right word, too. It's not just about leaving these kids out and making them feel bad, it's what is lost in this world when we don't cultivate their ideas and try them out (often just because they are unfamiliar).

[@chrystiamy]

+Week in Neurodiversity Amen!

[@pumamountainlion7777]

Christine Hutton Autism and neurodiversity are two different things having variation in your eyes for example is not a bad thing however being blind is what is a bad thing same with autism having variation in your brain is not a bad thing, I don't know how you would detect that variation however not having a brain that functions IS a bad thing that needs a cure.

[@samanthashellard7470]

Thoughtful and though provoking presentation

[@JamieHumeCreative]

At sixty five and watching this 2016 video I know that this is a cycle where enlightened ideas come forward to broaden approaches in education and then there is a backlash. There is a paradigm war for education where big companies want to control the types of educations we receive and the thinking or unthinking approaches taught in them. They want a specific outcome. As an Artist and someone who is ND, I hated the way art was taught in schools most of the time. Not just how it was taught, but the approach. I tired to get into education, but was not able to . I had taught with innovative techniques on my own. A woman once chatt4ed with me about my approach to creativity and said, that creativity iks a bad thing to spread in society. She was terribly afraid ot it and that she would not be able to predict or deal with such an approach. Eye ipener, yet many of my ideas would be praised by teachers passing by my studio saying that they could use that. So I would say...great, when can I come and do a workshop with your class? Shock and awe. I call us Feeder Fish. We are idea generators and our ideas are used for the profit of others while we are tossed by the way side. Waldorf and or Montessori would have been a great palace for em to be educated..I'm butter, yet I do my part. People fear difference. I've even had people say that I scare them. I don;t try to scare them. I'm very grateful to have the ND community and to know what's been happening to me and why before I die.

[@ivangartenhaus4276]

So true.

[@waanaabe-4795]

Where were you before I dropped out! keep up the good work

[@chrystiamy]

Thanks for the support! I'm sorry to hear that our education system let you down. I will continue to work toward change to support and respect you and people like you. You deserve it.

[@waanaabe-4795]

@@chrystiamy Actually, it's not so much the "where" (I'm Canadian) as the "when"; I mean, one would still get physically punished for left-handedness when I was a child... I would get punished and have to sit in a "special" corner for having ADHD (now re-dignosed as ASD)... Nothing was for the child, all for the confort of the "average (and teachers)... I'm glad people are looking into these matters for next generations and making huge progress :) thanks

[@lexhupe]

Read the book of Todd Rose: The Myth of Average

[@1einst]

great talk

[@philsaspiezone]

Neurodiversity is the last stage of working class thought.

[@PukaHeadMan]

Awesome speech!

[@equineassistedtherapy]

Brilliant

[@Tiparium_NMF]

Yo whats up Christy.

[@0x5m2s]

"This is the worst Ted Talk I have ever watched." -Kaitlyn Z

[@waanaabe-4795]

Usually strong statements like this need a little evidence/explanation... or else it just sounds like a 5yo talking about brocoli (or... hate speech)

[@Moonz-f3k]

Brilliant! It brought tears to my eyes. This is so true, and so very, very important. Thank you for such a wonderful talk.

[@egarciaeg420]

shes got a sexy schoolteacher vibe going on there