The 10 Second Autism Test: What's YOUR Answer?

Dave Describes the 10 Second Autism Test, and reveals a secret...
Amazon Link to eBook and Sample: amzn.to/2Y322HF
For more, head over to the Autistic Millionaire Channel:
/ @davepl
Discord Chat: / discord
Adult ASD Screening Test: psychology-tools.com/test/aut...
This video is for entertainment purposes only and does not contain medical advice, nor am I a medical professional. Only a qualified neurologist, developmental psychologist, psychiatrist, or other qualified doctor can accurately diagnose Autism Spectrum Disorder!

[@PRISON-PLANET87]

10 sec turn into minuts my head is exploding

[@DavesGarage]

What if it were a math question that took 10 seconds to read and yet it took 10 minutes to solve, and the professor explained to you how to do it. Of course, the video would not be 10 seconds! So why should neurology or psychology be any simpler? The TEST is 10 seconds. The video is about the reasons for and the implications OF the test. But I'm pretty sure you knew that all along :-)

[@abstract_extremist]

@@DavesGarage it's cool dude just admit it's clickbait no shame everyone does it. Gotta hit over that 10 minute mark as well for the money. Again no shame just accept what you did. Perhaps stay away from mental health stuff and let the doctors spread that info.

[@smartalek180]

@@dosmundos3830 Those two are not mutually exclusive. And: each one of those may, and sometimes does, have value in its own right, even as it's also got promotional intent. There was plenty of valuable, and significant, information here.

[@abstract_extremist]

@@CodyEwok won't promote 10 seconds videos. Lol never heard of tiktok I guess or shorts or reels???? It's clickbait.

[@abstract_extremist]

@@CodyEwokclickbait definition (on the internet) content whose main purpose is to attract attention and encourage visitors to click on a link to a particular web page. Example: "these recent reports of the show's imminent demise are hyperbolic clickbait" I watched the whole video btw. I am interested in mental health because i myself have several mental and physical disabilities. Mostly mental ones not that it matters. So before you white night someone's disability maybe think twice about the community the video might have attracted. Last but not least i don't "think" i know. If and when i am wrong I always admit it.

[@john543]

Diagnosed in my early 50's, I broke down and cried like a baby when I realized I wasn't 'bad'. I am also a very successful IT guy, but when asked about my greatest achievement I say 'when I wrote and produced a little office Christmas party play'.

[@maureenlaneski2802]

Hey, good job on the play, man. That took a lot of work with putting ideas on paper and coordinating with people. I used to do that in college (not the writing).

[@sumdumbmick]

that honestly brought a tear to my eye. you're a legend, bro.

[@Riffmaster227]

You wrote die hard?

[@MissAGardiner]

Ha.

[@peanutbutter5986]

Cherry pie

[@toxicwxste]

this guy created Task manager, what a legend. All love from programmers around the world! thanks dave

[@YG-jn8st]

I was wondering why he was wearing a task manager pin.

[@neekfenwick]

He did not create Task Manager. He may have worked on that project, but your assertion is clearly false. edit: for those about to comment and too lazy to read the small number of comments here, I do refute my comment and accept my fault. Please don't comment to say I was wrong as others have done, it's a waste of time.

[@toxicwxste]

@@neekfenwick Damn Nick! Way to go on checking Internet Facts! but no one really cares, and so what if he didn't "create" task manager. He still played a role in it's creation so my "assertion" is partially correct, and not clearly false. Now please go bully someone else

[@neekfenwick]

@@toxicwxste I apologise for causing grief, I was having one of those "someone is wrong in the internet" moments, but still, to "create" something has a very specific meaning, it's not the same as to work on it. I don't think I'm bullying anyone, you're implying I'm bullying you but calling out someone as wrong isn't bullying. Your assertion does hold some water but he didn't "play a role in its creation" if it was one of the pre-existing pieces of the OS that he worked on for some time (I know this gets complicated if the piece was improved or expanded significantly, there's more "creation" there than simple "work" but I'm not privy to the details of the project status) All credit to Dave, though, and the thousands of other engineers at MS, I'm not trying to detract from what he did. My comment was directed solely at your assessment of it.

[@toxicwxste]

@@neekfenwick Damn Nick! You're insufferable! :)

[@sharonnewman1474]

My teenage granddaughter was diagnosed as having high functioning autism. I have had symptoms all my life and masked it my entire life. Now I see what it is. So strange at 67 to realize I’ve been coping with this all my life. Glad my granddaughter is finally getting the help she needs.

[@dipsymum]

Wow! I had to check that I hadn’t written this! I am 67 and believe I am autistic and my soon to be a teenager granddaughter has been diagnosed as a high functioning autistic. I was listening to a video yesterday about autism and one of the traits is having no filter to what you say. I am hugely interested in the truth about the world and spiritual things and 6 years my ‘no filter’ about the topics I am interested in made my teacher daughter shout at me "Don’t you dare!” I turned and went upstairs to cry, her dad later had cause to reprimand her for the way she treats me and consequently we haven’t seen her really for 6 years. It feels to me like she died 6 years ago. We have attended family funerals and been in a small room with her and she totally ignores us. I still love her as any mother would and send her cards and flowers for birthdays etc, but we don’t even receive a card back from her. I don’t understand why she wasn’t able to show an interest in the things that interested me, or even to enter into debate about such things, she doesn’t have to agree with me, but to cut us off completely like this is so cruel. My youngest daughter has told me that during a reading with a medium that she had, the medium referenced this and said that your grandfather is really angry with her for doing this to your mum, and she gestured that he was shaking his fist at her. I believe we all have a soul contract to fulfill here on earth and it’s something we agree to before we come here, that nothing is a coincidence, so maybe each of our souls agreed that we needed to experience all of this.

[@connectionqueen]

Diagnosed at 56... Was mildly shocked

[@connectionqueen]

Donohue!!! I'm LMAO, my LMOldA off, how 'bout SJR (Sally Jesse Rafael)!!

[@I_am_a_libtard]

Thanks!! I’m 53 and just found out I am autistic. IT EXPLAINS SOOOOOOOO MUCH!!! I am buying your book today, and I’ll post it EVERYWHERE

[@cornishmaid9138]

Found out at 68 and it explains, not only my whole life, but also the reasons of behaviour of my whole, very large, extended family.

[@I_am_a_libtard]

@@cornishmaid9138 I’m glad you said that. I’ve been wondering about members of my family. Some people just don’t want to look into stuff like this because it scares them, I think. I would love it if some of my family members would consider watching some of these videos, or seeing a neuropsychologist are something.

[@cornishmaid9138]

@@I_am_a_libtard - I hear you. I’ve tried to approach a couple of my cousins to give them the opportunity to explore the reasons for their own mental health issues, but I was ignored. Can’t fix the world, but I can heal my own open wounds.

[@I_am_a_libtard]

@@cornishmaid9138 you’ve got a great mindset! Just be as helpful as you can, and make sure to keep your self aligned and balanced.

[@cathleenbaldwinmaggi2252]

At 61 with a massive Autistic crash after a life event I found out I was on the spectrum and all of us can crash no matter how highly functioning we are. Sure did make sense of my life. Both of my granddaughters, ages 4 and 6 are showing signs. I wish my kids understood how much it would have helped me to know this earlier in life.

[@RedHotMessResell]

You know what’s crazy? When you said which one is more important for society, creativity or cooperation. My brain immediately said “creativity,” and then the voice inside my head said, “for you. But to everyone else it’s probably cooperation.” The masking part of my brain has always competed with my intuition. It’s crazy to recognize that now.

[@Dragoninja26]

my immediate thoughts were kinda between this and what he explained later, I thought (and still do) that creativity is very important but immediately after I thought about how there is no society without cooperation, like society is by definition essentially a cooperative group, and so, both are necessary and I can't really logically evaluate which one is better, creativity without cooperation wouldn't be too useful, but would cooperation without creativity be any better?

[@underourrock]

It's freeing to recognize that. When I figured out that I have been masking my whole life and doing a crap job at it, I've started to pull back somewhat and found I have more energy to do it when it is important and feel more free to be me. I am pretty blunt and honest about who and how I am. I'm not suggesting that you just stop.. but spend a little time to figure out when you can just relax a little and be you without apology. Just be.

[@underourrock]

@@Dragoninja26 blind cooperation is how you get nazis. Creativity can go in any direction including a very dark path. Creativity and cooperation are indeed incredibly powerful, but there is a third thing that is just as important... Maybe more important than both. If you ask a severely autistic person to rank compassion, creativity, and cooperation... I suspect compassion will often times find it's way to the bottom. If you think about every organized evil in society from history to today, you'll likely find that what is missing is a level of compassion. I too would have originally thought to rank compassion as lower, but now that I'm older, have more experience, and maybe a little bit better awareness of myself, I'm pretty sure compassion is the most important. Creativity second, and a close third cooperation. With those three things, we as a society could do anything we set our hearts and minds to

[@lazarusdeagneaux1817]

I immediately did that too! I was like I think creativity is more important, but people would most likely say cooperation, but then I was like, but you can't have one without the other so probably both are important, but if I have to only pick one I guess cooperation, but my immediate decision was creativity lol

[@Jayraymay13]

Roughly the same thought. I wanted it to be creativity but practically speaking, I knew that for society to function, we need to cooperate.

[@bigclivedotcom]

I've got a theory that in the same way that a hive has bees with different functions, there are also humans with different functions. The ones classed as autistic are simply optimised for technical stuff to design, build and maintain society. There's a strong pattern of kids that take their toys apart and progress to technical careers. Often loners who absorb massive quantities of technical data easily and have a home that is more like a workshop. For many, KZbin entertainment is basically videos in a different area of technology because increasing their technical knowledge is enjoyable. Autistic people make the world a much more fun place to live.

[@DingleFlop]

I love your channel. Thank you for the time you spend breaking down simple circuitry, it's probably filling the hole for all those kids that aren't able to break things to see how they work!

[@YourUNKus]

So this explains why I unscrewed the seat from the base of the stool in the dentist's office to see how it worked when I was about 4. Oh and 60 years later why one bedroom of my home is full of electronics and test equipment and the other bedroom is where my minimill, minilathe, drillpress, hydraulicpress and toolchests are. Hardly leaves any room for three 3d printers, ~6 computers and the reference libraries .... oh right that's the living room !!! Ha - lets hear it for the spectrum !! 😀

[@MarcusTheDorkus]

I agree. People have a large variety of personalities made up of a massive combination of different tendencies and behaviors. While some of these can be detrimental to the individual or to society, in general I believe they're very useful. We have people who fit all sorts of roles in the world. I don't think society would function if we all fit a single mold. I wouldn't want to imagine a world without all our autistic people, but I also wouldn't want to imagine a world that is only autistic.

[@Frieza287]

Didn't think I'd see you here, love your channel clive! I agree with you.

[@almosthuman4457]

❤

[@SteveJohnSteele]

I knew, or at least strongly suspected. Your facial expressions, eyes, speech pattern are all almost exactly the same as mine ... and yes I also have ASD. I was diagnosed when I was 45, now 58. As to the subject of "empathy" there seems to be two schools of thought on this, one school says a person with Autism is incapable of empathy, another school (those that actually have interactions with people with autism) state that we DO have empathy and we often feel so much (no filters) that we cannot cope with the input (overload) and have to shut down. So the "no empathy" thing is a shield we learn to put up to protect ourself.

[@annanajduch5201]

Perfectly stated!

[@danawaldrop4930]

None of us are identical drones. The level of autism and the level of empathy in the same person is immeasurable really. We're all very different with varying degrees of both. The more empathic people are on different levels as to just how empathetic they are. Likewise, a narcissist possesses different 'levels' of NPD or similar diagnosis, depending on his upbringing and current environment as well as many other triggers. Some narcissists are covert which adds another level of complexity. Those two contrasts has ZERO to do with autism! Except? Having autistic patterns will affect the levels of empathy and narcissism.

[@pauberrymon5892]

Creativity. The reasons are too many to post on this message board.

[@babystepsgarden6162]

My entire family is ND. We have all learned to communicate and give each other space or company as needed. Some of us are very crowd shy, others love research and are very good at it because of our ability to focus. Thank you for this video! You are one of my heroes!

[@Kube_Dog]

My entire family has an undiagnosed condition, especially my in-laws. We communicate using Morse code. So, we're even more special than you.

[@wesleytuttle8320]

Thank you for this. I was diagnosed with ASD when I was 35 I was surprised but not shocked. My whole life I felt like a alien who just landed on the planet trying to understand how normal humans work so that I can coexist with them.

[@cindykq8086]

Exactly! So well said. Greetings, fellow alien.

[@wesleytuttle8320]

Greetings 🖖🏼

[@gregledbetter5942]

Well-worded Wesley.. It hit me at the age of 33

[@leslierhorer1412]

Once again, I ask, "Why?" Why would you want to? Unless they are paying you to do a job, you owe them nothing. If coexistence is required by them, then let *THEM* change. I am staring to sound like a broken record, but personally I could not care less.

[@MarikHavair]

@@leslierhorer1412 What a ridiculous question, the majority doesn't change to fit the minority, put bluntly 'If coexistence is required' then you change or cease to exist. Even dominant minority ruling classes (See Germans throughout Europe's middle ages) changed to fit the culture of the people they ruled more than the culture changed to fit them, the Franks (Germanic namesake of the French) adopted the Romanized Gaulic culture and language which now bears their name, rather than imparting theirs unto the populace they ruled.

[@DavesGarage]

The big surprise is how little surprise there is!

[@SimonZerafa]

Any chance there might be an audio version of your book? And I wonder how many have already asked? 😉 I answered both to the question but I'm guessing its not a fair test. I do wonder about myself and wondered if I should investigate further.

[@thatguy1306]

Was a surprise to me that masking was on fleek. You do well with anything that you set your mind 2 also much appreciated that you actually take the time and use your time to upload videos on KZbin that exploration on boat will only have great things 2 come 👍

[@Conservator.]

I’m not surprised but I’d never given it much thought either. I can easily connect with people with ADHD/ADD and some form of ASD. Hmm, I wonder why that would be 😁 Thank you for this video.

[@Conservator.]

@@SimonZerafa I think you should only investigate if you feel that the result could improve your life. Maybe reading Dave’s book is a good start. It could even be all you need to know but that’s a wild guess. If you buy the e-book you can probably have it read to you. Not ideal but it’s something.

[@ferrumignis]

Autism is more common in engineering disciplines, it's almost a positive trait for software engineering IMO!

[@ElimEx1]

I am in the same boat. I learned this in my 40s. I have been masking really well all my life. Thank you for sharing! The more people share, the less stigma there will be around it.

[@maddadbricks]

37 here. Diagnosed a few months ago.

[@CB19087]

Hahaha i had the same. I started telling people i thought i was autistic and not one single person has disagreed so far. My family have suddenly become supportive after being given an alternative version of their judgements towards me. Coming out has been an overall positive experience, so far

[@shiivainu9442]

“Doing things you suck at or are afraid of doing is where the most growth occurs” is something I REALLY needed to hear today! Thank you!

[@LS-ei7xk]

Same here.

[@dwightdhansen]

Reason #1 I will never quit training Karate & Kobudo.

[@lorcanroche2987]

I regularly assess clients for adhd. Many are also on autism spectrum. Quite a few have ptsd and trauma acquired adhd. The co morbidities of these so called disorders are sometimes stark. But I agree. These are very often the most interesting people one can encounter. It's a wiring issue. Meds don't work for everyone. But relationship with nature does. Having a dog helps. Exercise that induces sweating helps. Routine helps. Self discipline. Chasing passions be they computers architecture music photography singing swimming etc. Challenging self critical voices. Avoiding weed and excess alcohol. Watching intake of caffeine and stimulant sugary drinks. Sleep. Rest. Recharging. Laughter. And for me motorbikes in mountains. Take care. A world entirely made up of neuro typical people would have meant the end of civilisation aeons ago.

[@aSwiftieTV]

I saw your comment RIGHT when he was saying that, wow

[@christofthedead]

@@dwightdhansen why are you afraid to quit? where's your discipline

[@NancyCronk]

Most scientists, mathematicians, engineers and doctors rate higher up the spectrum than the average person. It is nothing to be ashamed of. It often goes hand-in-hand with being very intelligent and detail-oriented.

[@therealwhite]

Now if only I got the intelligent half of that!

[@NuLiForm]

Yep...leading some 'brilliant' labelers to label it the "Genius Disease"....problem #1...it's Not a disease...

[@azurescenss]

I agree with you Nancy, it's amazing to me how many technology professional are autistic due to their love of repetitive patterns & being able to really focus on tasks that most other people can't. they can literally be geniuses.

[@LeTrashPanda]

It's great unless you also have learning disabilities to boot. Then you're sent to the remedial classes and you get to be the smartest kid in that class, lol.

[@acedia4453]

No, not true at all. Some scientist, mathematicians, engineers maybe. Doctors, unlikely.

[@ilTHfeaa]

i clicked on this video to try to understand how this is a 10 minute video but a 10 second test??? tf why is there 590 more seconds than we need?

[@deezynar]

I love that you take it as a challenge to expose yourself to experiences that make you uncomfortable and force you to learn how to deal them. That is exactly the sort of defiance over being pigeonholed that I like.

[@DhhskkHehdis]

With the gradual using of dr Oyalo herbal recommendation for autism, whom I met on KZbin, my son is totally free from Autism with his speech cleared and social skills ok as he now respond to orders and act right.

[@DavesGarage]

To those asking about an audio version, yes, I am indeed working on one, but it will take some time! Cheers!

[@thomasdipalma2257]

OH YES! I'd rather listen to you read than ASMR to drift off...

[@lourias]

There are no fewer than 104 identified genes associated with Austism. With that many genes, chances are that every person has a touch of autism.

[@andrasszekely9967]

Exactly what I was going to ask. I look forward to it.

[@cedricvillani8502]

No sorry during your time admitting to autism or what they would’ve called retardation back then would NOT have been a good career mode, also other conditions were Definitely not OK I’m surprised you don’t remember any of this, as even contracting aids would cost you your security clearance, they were not 1 billion open positions like there are today well during these past 2-1/2 decades. Prior tech people (no not help desk or help with your Micron desktop purchase ppl) engineer’s, NOC room, in the loop software developer’s most likely would have to get security clearance because of the data, equipment, door codes etc they were in charge of, this would involve being checked against all the databases livescand(ten printers)JDIC, NCIC, everything through DOJ (hi sun UNIX) ha, etc etc. normally took about 3-6months to get your tags(but surprisingly on a sidenote contractors were able to work during this time Period, well most ) ADD, ADHD etc.. didn’t even exist yet I should know I was part of the first at the Mayo Clinic when I was five. big Pharma has added a lot of subjective content and clauses into the DSMV so you can get the appropriate medication, that too is also a big truth, lol in Japan depression was not treated with drugs, it was actually considered a good sign, but they made and sold America it’s pills (interesting side note) dude you need an animator to put some more depth on these great stories and voice

[@retrotech.oldschool]

Take my money now! and yeah I just took the test and wow... that explains so much... thanks for everything Dave!

[@deanhough8993]

Massive respect for you, sir. I was immediately impressed with your technical ability and deep knowledge of things but also noticed you were rather reserved and somewhat unanimated. Your honest sharing of your moderate autism took courage and confidence. It's beneficial for everyone to be more aware of autism and to reduce any negativity associated with it. I'm extremely impressed with you in many, many ways. Outstanding job, Dave!!!.

[@Boroda4Gaming]

Masking through writing is one of the best things to "adjust" in my opinion. I've been doing this for years and didn't realize until now how helpfull it can be. Thanks for putting such topic in a chewable format

[@herewegokids7]

Jesus Christ is that why I do that

[@EveryDayALittleDeath]

Your story of getting diagnosed is the exact opposite of mine. I still remember the very first time I heard about autism, I was 12, and I immediately went "oh! That sounds like me!" But I masked so well, no one else saw it, so I thought "I guess I don't understand what autism really is," put it out of my head, and didn't think about again for 18 years until I stumbled onto a video about autism in girls that basically described my entire childhood that sent me down a KZbin rabbit hole. A year and a half later I had my diagnosis.

[@rebeccabaxterbard8073]

I'm 57 and was diagnosed with ADD a decade ago. Only recently was asked by a family friend if I was "on the spectrum"? (He has a child who is autistic). I was offended but then went down the internet rabbit hole of Autism in women and, like you, discovered that my entire childhood makes sense through the lense of being autistic. My question is what real purpose is there in having a diagnosis? If I am confident I have it, I can either choose to tell people or not. Even if I had a diagnosis that took 12 hours of testing, there would still be certain family & friends that would not believe it because of my masking. On the other hand, just last night my sister-in-law said at the dinner table "you talk too much" (she NEVER talks). But, I'm not sure that telling her I have autism (with an official diagnosis) would convince her my brain works that way & I get excited about topics. She would still just judge me & say the same thing. Right now, I brush it off, but if I shared that I had autism & her comments were the same, I can imagine I might take it more personally (cause that would be kind of shitty of her) - it would be more hurtful for sure. So how has getting an actual diagnosis helped you other than confirming your own suspicions and removing the wondering about do I have it or don't I?

[@EveryDayALittleDeath]

@@rebeccabaxterbard8073 My situation is a little different, my family won't accept any self-diagnosis, but once it comes from an official doctor they're pretty accomodating. I'm also in therapy and there are certain therapy techniques that work fine for neurotypical people that just don't really work for autistic people. Lastly, I'm disabled due to chronic physical illness, so I'm looking into if having autism entitles me to additional help (it varies by state and I moved recently). Self-diagnosis is absolutely valid, but for me, it was worth it to get diagnosed. Everyone's situation is different, though, so if you don't think it'll help, then not seeking a diagnosis is totally fine.

[@EveryDayALittleDeath]

@Kirsten Donaho how dare you spread such ableist and harmful misinformation. If you're not a spambot, you should know that nothing can "reverse" autism, which is good because autism does not need to be cured. Our brains simply work differently, and your son wasn't following instructions because either a) what you wanted him to do was overwhelming for him in some way or b)he didn't understand what it was you wanted because his communication style is different. You should be absolutely ashamed of yourself. I am PROUD to be autistic, I love the person I am, and hopefully once your son grows up and gets away from his ableist mother he'll learn to love himself too.

[@rebeccabaxterbard8073]

Thanks so much for your reply! Hopefully you will qualify for the extra help!

[@alfonzo7822]

Funny that sounds like me with ADHD. Seemed like me but decided docs would think I was just after pills. Got diagnosed 20 years later. I believe my daughter is autistic but struggling to get help from medical professionals. They say we need to fix her anxiety and THEN see if she is still struggling. I've tried to tell them, the anxiety wont get fixed as it's living in a neurotypical world that's causing the anxiety. I'll keep pushing. She's 12 now, about to start high school. I've read that's when it gets more difficult to keep your head above the water, so I'll keep the lifebelt out there and keep pushing to get support for her too.

[@robhogarth29]

Writing books is hard enough, getting people interested is WAY harder. Great work Dave!

[@marna_li]

I think you are right. I have ASD and I find purpose in creating stuff before cooperation itself. Most neurotypical find purpose primarily in doing something together with others. This is what, to them, makes boring tasks bearable. Which doesn't mean that they don't value creativity.

[@caitlinmiller]

Dave, thx for this! I suddenly figured out I was autistic two years ago at the ripe old age of 57. The aha initially blew me apart, but has since brought much peace. It was the missing piece I'd be searching for, for so long. Looking forward to reading your book:-). And, yes, perhaps what was more shocking was the not-so-shocked reaction of my friends and favorite long-term clients, who all responded with 'Well, you've always danced to your own drum,' or (trying to be reassuring) 'Well, we're all a little bit on the spectrum'! haha

[@jonathansturm4163]

About 10 years ago my wife gave me a book to read: “Aspergers in Love”. A few weeks later it was the annual Boxing Day get-together for my friends-all five of them-and I announced my discovery. “I just found out I’m Aspergers”. The friend who’d been the best man at my wedding said: “Look around you!” I realised that while my wife was NT, my friends were all on the spectrum.

[@KenPiper]

Yep, birds of a feather and all that!

[@serbiansleeperagent]

Yup, most of my friends are on the spectrum, birds of the same feather flock together as the above reply was trying to say.

[@jonathansturm4163]

@@BT-dl8kq I was. Three down and two of us to go.

[@cindykq8086]

That would be comforting to find out. You know everyone's got your back and you have theirs.

[@nleem3361]

Hi, I'm wondering what the benefits are for being tested for autism later in life? Like, if your high functioning and doing well? Is it just good to know, so you know how your brain works? Or are there meds that help, like adhd people have? I'm wondering because I'm trying to see what the benefit of getting a confirmation test would be?

[@123ABCabby]

I got diagnosed at 19, Im 21 now. I still haven't recovered from the autistic burnout I hit right before my diagnosis. I heavily masked my entire life and was a perfectionistic people pleaser leading to cPTSD (or maybe resulting from). Masking is not without its downsides. Masking is constantly analyzing the way you are being perceived by everyone in the room and doing everything you can to mirror what they do and being scared that they are going to misunderstand you, so you start explaining yourself and your thinking before you can even get to the point you want to express in each thing you talk about to the point that people stop wanting to listen to you anyway and its exhausting and leads to meltdowns and burnout.

[@123ABCabby]

@Karl with a K are you really trying to invalidate my diagnosis, my entire life experience, and my traumas just to make a point? Poor behavior.

[@paddleduck5328]

@Karl with a K not very cooperative, karl 🧐

[@erickromero010]

I’m screenshooting everything I relate to. Thank you abby

[@judahbaker4981]

you sound exactly like me and it scares me because i have never been diagnosed w a disorder like this and dont want to be. im 20

[@DavidtheSwarfer]

before you worry about what other people are thinking, prove that they are indeed thinking! (-:

[@madjohnshaft]

me too bud. Thanks for this video. It really means a lot. i'm glad that you didn't start a separate channel for this topic, and that it's folded into your main channel. That's very brave of you. You are very important to me.

[@madjohnshaft]

and yeah, if we were in the small band of wandering, humans were supposed to be, I would be one goddamn kick ass engineer that was inventing, new axes and ways to preserve meat and ways to ferment alcohol and ways to, etc. etc. and everyone would love me

[@calabrais]

I feel like the "objective" answer is, cooperation is needed to keep a society functioning as is, and creativity is needed to make a society grow and progress forward. So I'd agree with your final assessment that they're both important. I love your videos, thanks for sharing this!

[@AdmiralJota]

Yeah, that's why I ended up going with cooperation, after I had to stop and think about it for a bit. Because without creativity, society will still function, even if it'll never advance. But without cooperation, it won't function at all.

[@Starzy2]

That's what I said, both are needed in the long run.

[@SubFlow22]

Asper here, ADHD, lifelong IT pro, developer, BJJ black belt, generally fascinated by this channel. Will be reading the book.

[@ShayHowardBennett]

you just described me minus the black belt, currently at blue 🤣

[@4.0.4]

Hello Lex Fridman 👋

[@jamesfish2132]

😂

[@buzdi_dop]

Kinda offtopic, I'm diagnosed with ADHD and I'm very hyperactive. Well I work as a cashier in the biggest supermarket chain in our country (Konzum), recently I got awarded as the fastest and most accurate cashier in the entire supermarket chain but whatever else I do gives bad results or makes me very bored and tired

[@disfuncionexe]

yoo I love jujitzu, I started a few months ago and got my first stripe. I am on the school wrestling team now since I wanted to improve my takedowns

[@Conservator.]

3:33 I never thought there would be an actual car in Dave’s garage 😁

[@paulstubbs7678]

A Man Cave would be a better description.

[@Conservator.]

@@paulstubbs7678 👍

[@virtualpilgrim8645]

With posters of sexy babes sprawled across car hoods and motorcycles....

[@CodeAsm]

@@virtualpilgrim8645 Clippie, Cortana, MS-DOS-tan and Tōko Madobe. You may tell im on the spectrum with a reaction like this :P

[@kk0dj]

Thank you Dave... many of us on the spectrum of course could answer the single question you posed and believe they aren't autistic. Thank you for being clear about that! It wasn't until my grandson was diagnosed that my son and I realized we too were on the spectrum. Rooting for your book to be purchased and many becoming educated about autism.

[@Vchat20]

I just happened to stumble across your channel (started and ate up your entire MS War Stories series) and discovering you being on the spectrum and discussing it so openly on your channel, having that nice mix of technical content and ASD discussion just hits the dopamine button quite well for me. You've definitely gotten a subscribe from me and I'll definitely look into your book for sure. Not officially diagnosed here but I'm pretty positive I've got the fun mess that is AuDHD having self-DXed that here in the past year or so. Before burnout set in due to 'adult responsibilities' I used to be a pretty creative thinker and idea person. One big 'pie in the sky' idea I had way back in the early 00s was figuring out a way to add in GPS location based services to old school MUD/MUSH/MU* games to have dynamic content based on one's location, way before Ingress was even a thing. Sadly I had no programming skills to really pursue it. And even now I've only recently started to dip my toes in (doing a bit of python and some JS for web stuff).

[@ClankioAi]

I tried the test on my partner (we're both software developers) and she said immediately "Creativity!" and then went into a detailed statistical analysis of how it's probably optimal to have a good distribution. I once asked her "what's common about apples, oranges and bananas?", most people say "fruit" but I loved her answer which after a bit of pondering was "Vitamin C!" 😄

[@recoveringsoul755]

In 2nd grade I think at school we all got IQ Tests. I remember being asked what do being happy and being sad have in common. And I was completely stumped, because they're opposites. It's the only question i remember because I thought i got it wrong. I finally said that sometimes you cry when you're sad, and you can also cry when you're really happy. Afterwards, I asked my friends what they got for that question, and they said they're both emotions. D'uh of course, I felt so stupid. I don't know if I got it wrong or not. My mom was a psychologist and she took me to work with her once, i think she may have given me a test, i remember the ink blot tests and some other things that seemed like games. Anyway when I was in college I was seeing a guy who kept telling me he was a genius and bragging about his 124 IQ, said he could talk circles around any psychologists. I was home visiting one time and complained to my mom about this because he was making me feel stupid, and she started laughing. I asked what was so funny, and she said mine was higher. Oh.

[@higreentj]

I thought straight away creativity but then I thought of antisocial personality disorder so switched to cooperation.

[@Sam-zu5mr]

Bananas dont have vitamin C in them...vitamin d3 yes.

[@higreentj]

@@Sam-zu5mr I would say they are common fruits that are available all year round. Strawberries are high in vitamin C but you cannot buy them fresh all year round. The world seems to be moving towards producing all their food in greenhouses and vertical farms so things might change.

[@eternalvigilance5697]

@@recoveringsoul755 124 is simply above average. I guess it put him in the 94th percentile, but not much to brag about really. Mine is also much higher than 124, but I don't go around telling everyone and bragging about it.

[@fluffycritter]

I didn't get diagnosed with ADHD until I was 41, but in retrospect it explains SO MUCH about my life. I just took the 10-minute quiz and it said I'm probably not autistic (with a score of 20/50), but ADHD and ASD are definitely two different tips of the same gigantic neurodiversity iceberg and things that are helpful for one group are also helpful for the other. I think one of the greatest things about humanity is that we have a bunch of different ways of perceiving the world and contributing to the species. I just wish people with median characteristics understood that instead of trying to "fix" us all.

[@darkstarr984]

Huh. I took one and it said definitely. Which is interesting because most I’ve found land me 1-3 points above the cutoff.

[@Wonkess_Chonkess]

Now imagine having adhd and autism! Wouldn't that be a tread😭 Might I add I did not just make that up or get that from some website. I got thoroughly tested at the Leokannerhuis and at Kentalis I believe.

[@NuLiForm]

Well said. & i would bet you are on the spectrum, just an educated guess. Yes...the 'fixers' who fear thus must destroy anything that does not fit neatly into their tiny little boxes...will be the Doom of the species if left to do what they are doing to us all, right now....

[@tomnietz4158]

Thank you for sharing late life Autism. My grandson was diagnosed with Asperger’s at age 5. Symptoms included lack of inter personal emotions, eating disorder with 5 foods he would date, no sense of time, sleeping till noon, dislike of noises, inability to perform homework without constant supervision, and slow to make friends. He graduated from high school with unreal talent for percussion and receiver large music scholarships to every college he applied including the New England School of Music in Boston. In the fall of 2024 he will be going somewhere to graduate school for music. But here is the kicker, he can’t function alone. The performances are great but someone needs to escort him everywhere the first time, then he can drive himself after that. Self motivation is a luxury for him with his Autism. I hope this thumbnail sketch my help parents new to Autism. All I can tell you is that before drums and percussion our grandson was a rudderless ship!

[@d-ro_aka_boba-fatt]

Those of us that are as well, already knew. Love you Dave! Keep the great content rolling! "Takes one to know one!" - advice from everyone's mom at some point in our adolescence

[@foxvulpes8245]

I am an INTJ. Probably on the spectrum. I dont often show emotions, but I feel them intensely. I think over time you teach yourself how to interact and be "social." Its often a theatrical endeavor that seems to be nothing but trivial, but those "others" seem to not even know they are parts in a play. You find out quickly that people don't want solutions to their social problems... in fact they seem to want to live in the drama. That was a hard lesson to learn... but no one would assume I am an INTJ. I just treated social interactions like a skill to be built. Also, I have good jokes.

[@sandrahamou4536]

Well said ❤

[@Abuhan47]

I'm also an INTJ, I saw that most dictators are. Lately, I've been trying to pursue this career since it fits the INTJ personality but it seems like a very competitive field so idk... maybe I'll just do art school instead.

[@crossman1459]

​@@Abuhan47 i'm sorry did you say you're pursuing a career in dictatorship? Like you want to be like Hitler, Stalin, Kim Jung Un, etc.?

[@Mygary]

@@Abuhan47 Based.

[@Abuhan47]

​@@crossman1459 No I want to be a painter, I just applied for art school. It was just an idea, relax normie

[@chriswareham]

This struck a chord with me. I was sent for an initial screening aged 43 to see if I might have Asperger's, expecting to just be told I had a bit of OCD. The assessor said I had classic behavioural traits of someone with autism, so I was referred to the Maudsley Hospital here in the UK. I was given a bunch of tests, and then a formal diagnosis of Asperger's. I went through a number of emotions as I came to terms with the diagnosis, relief that my difficulties with social stuff were explained, then depression since I couldn't change the way I am, then acceptance and adjustment. Wish I'd been diagnosed much younger, but at least I now have an understanding of how I view the world differently to most people and can cope better.

[@grantmartin1852]

As far as my diagnoses goes, I don't really want to change who I am nor wear the "Label" as some sort of badge. I'm just happy to know why I'm so different and why I do and like the things I do. I'm particularly proud of how I've adapted myself to fit into society and how society now accepts me without question. I'm also extremely proud of how I've leveraged it into a "Superpower". Unfortunately, I'm not all that happy that I couldn't capitalize on it like Dave has ;) But all in all, I wouldn't trade my life for the world.

[@Solidst8dad2112]

@@grantmartin1852 I am much the same as you, I spent much of my life wondering "what the hell is wrong with me". Once I was diagnosed as being on the spectrum, I was able to come to terms with my issues and relax and just be me, quirks and all. I have done well for myself career and family wise and am happy that I finally know myself better!

[@diablo.the.cheater]

I am rather of the opinion that it is the others that have to change and not me. I am perfectly normal, it is the others that are weird.

[@aikou2886]

Classic behavioral traits of someone with autism? When/how did the assesor realize that?

[@aikou2886]

@Ívan's Music Unless you really want a child then you shouldn't have them. That's one of the things that are either a "hell yes!" or a no. And there's nothing wrong with not having/wanting kids.

[@Barrys_Workshop]

It would be very convenient for me to tag myself with Autism (something I have long suspected), at 68 it would explain a lot of my life, why I have felt different, what drives me on and perhaps why I seem to instinctively understand 'stuff', challenges for others around me don't seem like a challenge at all for me. Even after 8 years of retirement I feel compelled to learn new things, do good deeds, help people, and pass on what little knowledge and skills I have every day feeling that it's a gift even when it sometimes isn't really wanted. Your short video is quite inspiring actually, I took the time to take the test via the link, my number was uncomfortably high but at the age of 68 perhaps it's just a fun fact for my long-suffering family and friends who have always said Barry you're different. As a true Yorkshireman living in Scotland I went for the cheapest option and bought your book in Kindle format thank you for taking the time to write it.

[@LelandMaurello]

Thank you Dave for bringing this up and to the forefront. I have known several people who are autistic, and while their speech was strained and clumsy, their writing was brilliant, thus I saw a discrepancy between the cover and the contents. I hope you reach as many people on the spectrum are able to listen to your wise advise. Of course, and in addition; thank you for ALL your contributions to Windows. Your journey has brought me closer to the OS I've professionally supported for the last 20 years of my life. Thank you Dave.

[@sister7465]

My knee jerk reaction was cooperation....while sitting in a room full of art supplies while also researching violin care and lessons for beginners. To which I realized I mask even to myself. I'm newly diagnosed and trying to figure out who I am without mirroring the people around me. Thank you for this video.

[@therealkakitron]

Lol I read your comment thinking the same thing while sitting in my music room surrounded by guitars, basses, a piano and my recording gear. Yes, creativity wins.

[@alpachinko9154]

I said cooperation too, but I put that down to my heightened sense of justice, which is one of my strongest asd traits. I don't think it's always masking, just a different expression of ASD traits.

[@larkohiya]

To me it sounds like you may have answered another deeper thought you were having. That of what you desire. You desire cooperation because you HAVE creativity and outlets for it. Sometimes our "intuition" is just revealing what it is we lack.

[@capuchinosofia4771]

@@larkohiya this was my logic too. I need the cooperation from other people so i can manage my creativity!

[@melodi996]

How's that a masking though? Humanity survives through cooperation, it doesn't need outliers and their creativity, they're those that make community grow to a new level, but community itself survives through trying to stay in the middle.

[@SK83RJOSH]

Knew the ulterior motive would be revealed eventually! Thankfully it was a wonderful one that will help others. Bravo, Dave! Excited to read the book. 😊

[@peterbelanger4094]

I swear it used to be alterior, not ulterior, someone changed the dictionary.

[@bruceg1845]

@@peterbelanger4094 always been ulterior.

[@jek__]

@@peterbelanger4094 Google's ngram viewer to see usage of words in books over time is very useful for this sort of thing. It says that alterior has been a word for a long time, but started to drop off in usage in the early 1800's, and started to be used again in the 1980's. However, at it's highest usage alterior was about 200 times less popular than ulterior at it's lowest usage

[@seymourtompkins]

@@jek__ yours is a very aspie-like reply. classic. I think you just invented a test of your own :)

[@friendlyninja5048]

I was actually diagnosed twice. Once as a child, and again as a young adult. At first, I resented the label because it felt restrictive. I would try to hide it as best I could, which was ironically more restrictive than simply embracing my unique way of thinking. That's not to say I don't still mask, but I'm not really afraid or ashamed of it anymore. I find most people, especially my parents' generation or younger, are perfectly accommodating once they know. I greatly enjoy the fact that it lets me approach problems from different angles that a neurotypical person might not have considered. Often this allows me to account for things during the planning phase that might otherwise have gone unaccounted for. This has obvious benefits: smoother operation, increased professionalism, mitigating loss, etc. Though I do appreciate the input of my neurotypical friends and colleagues, in cases where I'm overcomplicating what would otherwise be a simple issue.

[@ShahabSheikhzadeh]

I don't know you, but learning this fact is fascinating and understanding that there's a simple way to gauge someone's perspective overall. But knowing you work through that while having a crazy popular KZbin channels is pretty awesome. I'm proud of You 🥳

[@morzee94]

This must have taken some bravery and I really, really respect you for it. I also completely agree with you about doing things that make you uncomfortable to make you grow. Your channel is amazing, congratulations on building something great on here!

[@treubuchet]

I teach. During my teacher training, I had to learn about disabilities so that I could better understand the needs of my students. During this process and then later, once I had started teaching, I realised that I too have (undiagnosed) autism. I often think about this too and have concluded the things that put me firmly on the spectrum are - patterns: I notice patterns everywhere; counting: I count things in my head when I am distracted, such as the number of panes of glass in a window and then recount it twice more to ensure I am correct. I'll perform the same count at other times too (weird eh!); socialising: I like being around people but find when there are large groups and there is a good deal of noise, I cannot focus on anything. I also find it difficult to 'chit chat' - it seems utterly pointless to me; photographs: my God, this is my big hate. Thanks to the global pandemic, I often have to teach via Zoom. Just seeing my face on screen makes me hugely uncomfortable, so I have taught myself to hide the image. I cannot stand having my photograph taken - I appear wooden whereas everyone else in the image is relaxed. However, I oose empathy, even to the point that on Reddit, I will give a post a 'like' if it lacks these or has only a few. If I were to ignore this, it would play on my mind that the original poster (OP) was sad by the lack of responses. Oddly, I also 'feel' for inanimate objects or characters in movies that are lonely (WALL-E movie, for example). I think I am high functioning, no-one has suggested I might be autistic. I am laughing at myself for making the above public, but hey ho, does it matter? To me, not really, we are a rainbow of differences, and it is these differences that makes this world wonderfully diverse and it is that I like to focus on. Thanks for this video Dave. I am currently working through your library of videos.

[@lulumoon6942]

Your statements are shockingly familiar. Best to you in your journey. 👍

[@11AceHearts11]

Dang it.. I read the Reddit part about giving likes if there's a lack.. instant tears. I do that too (not on Reddit, I'm not on there) and often criticized myself for doing it. Huh.. I've been unraveling a lot about myself in these past couple of days. I also think I'm high functioning, ive thought this for years. You sound a lot like me. Thank you for your comment.

[@sammnew]

I relate too. I thought that I was the only one to worry about the feelings of lots of people that I don’t know 😊 I have ADHD but not autism I don’t think xxx

[@Tom_Losh]

I think we may be from the same planet . . . Everything you described sounds perfectly 'normal' to me.

[@CMarie404]

All of which you said resonates with me.

[@ThePhilosophicalOpossum]

This video was spectacularly consise and is the most well executed summarization of aquiring a diagnosis I have seen here on youtube. Who's deft formating frankly left me feeling inspired. I very much appreciate you sharing this with us and may it help others on their discovery as it certainly has for mine. Thank you Dave! :)

[@zayas6999]

What an awesome video. I appreciate the honesty and willingness to deal with things that suck. Cheers and wish you the best. Just subbed and look forward to watching more of your videos.

[@alfredinho3696]

Preordered the book. They say to never preorder things, but I'm assuming unlike a modern video game your book won't break the second I crack it open.

[@DustinRodriguez1_0]

Luckily in the publishing industry, the fanbase is actually willing to go through with boycotts, not just lie about doing so and then buying the collectors edition on release day. That old saying "you get what you pay for" goes both ways. Not only do you get less if you pay less... but if you pay for something, you will get it. So, since gamers pay mountains of money for games they "hate" and "won't buy", well, those are exactly the kind of games they shall get in abundance. In contrast, in the book publishing industry, back in the 1990s (maybe early 00s) book asked, just ASKED, whether it might be a good idea to put age ratings on books intended for children, like the ratings system we have for movies and videogames. The response was instant, swift, and terrifying (to publishers anyway). Major industry-leading authors cancelled their contracts, boycotts were rallied, authors fired their agents, op-eds were written and published, etc. Censorship has never benefitted a single human life, and neither authors nor readers would tolerate it coming to their medium of choice. Bookstores have a 'childrens' section and that is all that has ever been, or ever will be, needed. Game publishers look at their sales numbers, and that is literally the only thing they would ever listen to. They're bad to consumers, not their shareholders. There are games that treat the consumer well, they're called indie titles. Gamers hate them, and they rarely make any money.

[@kvdrr]

@@DustinRodriguez1_0 You are missing the point, I think. Nowadays AAA games are like Fast&Furious movies - fastfood. Something your zoomer Average Joe plays after his nightshift at McDonalds. Target demographic of bad games has become divergent to that of critical players. ALL of the recently published AAA video games had trivial storylines with preconceived message that only a monkey could mistake as profound (Battlefield, recent Wolfensteins, Call Of Duty, Last of Us 2). But wait a second... same could be said about blockbusters :D

[@4.0.4]

Imagine if books did that. Chapters 7 and 8 are a day 1 PDF download that you have to pay, plus the font in some pages is randomly Comic Sans or small-caps Papyrus.

[@VakmanCA]

Imagine a society running on creativity alone. It would be chaos within days. Collaboration is without a doubt an important prerequisite for society wellbeing. Both is even better but not of equal value.

[@laurad1487]

My answer was both. Cooperation leads to and feeds into creativity, and creativity without cooperation leads to innovation that goes exactly nowhere.

[@jeremywvarietyofviewpoints3104]

Same here. I did one of those autism questionnaire tests and I had a mixture of autistic and neurotypical traits.

[@whateverrandomnumber]

And this video should be entitled "How to make a 10 second test into a 10 minute promotion of your book"

[@DerrickJolicoeur]

I paused the video and thought way harder than reasonable about that question... And still landed on creativity.

[@johnburr9463]

I landed on both combined right away, but only because I have been through some similar experiences as Dave has implied. I used to be solidly on the creative side of that opinion.

[@OzzFan1000]

I answered cooperation but only because after all these years I've learned what the "correct" answer is from observing neuro-typicals. Personally I *prefer* creativity over cooperation if I had a choice.

[@adampope5107]

I was diagnosed with ADHD a couple years ago and it made everything make so much more sense. Stimulant medication is a life changer. I got a 40 out of 50 on that test. I've never been diagnosed with ASD but my wife said she wouldn't be surprised so 🤷

[@paulbarnett227]

Get tested. Knowledge is power.

[@adampope5107]

@@paulbarnett227 I'm considering asking my psychiatrist about it. I'm not sure what it will change as I've had to learn a ton of coping mechanisms to deal with my ADHD and anxiety already. I'm not aware of any medications that would help control symptoms of ASD. It's pretty interesting how these neurodiversities run in families. I have a nephew who is diagnosed with ASD, a cousin with Tourette syndrome, several brothers with ADHD, and almost all of us have depression. All of us also work in tech, engineering, or science as well, except for the crazy fundies on my mom's side of the family. We don't consider them family any more.

[@paulbarnett227]

@@adampope5107 ASD is not a disease and there's no medication for it. You just have to live with it. The diagnosis helps you to understand yourself better. It's just the brain wired a bit differently which has advantages and disadvantages. Play to the advantages if you can and learn to negotiate the disadvantages.

[@adampope5107]

@@paulbarnett227 yeah I changed it to neurodiversities. Old habits are hard to break. I've done some reading on ASD and my wife works with neurodivergent children so I've got some familiarity on it.

[@thatLukeKneller]

@@paulbarnett227 thatPaulBarnett??

[@horstmaier4734]

Hi Dave, great handling of the topic, kudos. From my own experience, the most important thing is to be aware of your own peculiarities compared to the collective. After that, masking makes life a lot easier. I am firmly convinced that such spectra always gather in certain areas. As an anesthesiologist and computer scientist, I believe I can see this at least. I discovered your channel a few weeks ago and enjoy the content. Thanks for sharing your story with us. Hats off to your life's work, I wish you all the best and especially health. Greetings from Germany.

[@Rasterizing]

I have ASD and I went right for "creativity" but I also knew that was what people with ASD would choose. I'm in my mid 40's now and have managed fairly well most of my life, although I didn't know what "masking" was and used to call it "emulating" - essentially the same thing. As Dave says, the "right" answer is a combination of both, and I have found this to be true in many aspects of my life.... It's very very hard to balance something, but often, that balance is exactly the right thing to do.

[@JackAllpikeMusic]

I'm a high-functioning autistic and ADHD, and it's really good to see some autistic representation in the software development world. it's really encouraging as I learn to program.

[@joesterling4299]

If you're high-functioning, it may be a significant advantage. Best of luck. This was my chosen career as well. (I'm Dave's contemporary, though nowhere near as talented.)

[@gee842]

there are so many of us high-functioning autistic + ADHD programmers out there! lived with 3 others during my course too haha

[@SubFlow22]

You will love it!

[@perwestermark8920]

I'm not putting any bets on outcome of a personal test.

[@aceoyame2619]

@@gee842 not a programmer here but sysadmin, also with autism and high functioning (seemingly at least)

[@underourrock]

When I figured out I was on the autistic spectrum I found comfort in finding a place. The label didn't bother me. A label doesn't change how I feel or interact with the world. It gave me insight and a thread to pull on, and I definitely am good at pulling on threads. Masking is exhausting. Finding out what makes typically easy things more difficult for me was freeing. I am working on reducing my masking behaviors to a more manageable and less exhausting degree. I don't want to make excuses for the way I am, but I do want to leverage my uniqueness and reduce the amount of energy I put into worrying about what other people think. I believe the key is somewhere in communication and balance. I still need I'll get along with enough social norms to avoid rubbing people wrong too much, but with more energy available I can try and do a better job of getting along when I need to and other times I can just be me. I didn't need a 12 hour test to dig out every nook and cranny. I just needed a flashlight and a name for what I was dealing with. The rest is becoming pretty obvious the more I pull that thread. Not judging your journey. I admire what you're doing and what you're sharing. I couldn't answer your either or question. My answer was both but with creativity listed first. When you got a bit further along I realized we were in fact in agreement. Sometimes I see too far ahead and that is very frustrating for a lot of people. Have a good one. I hope my comment contributes in a small way to your engagement metric and wishing you all the best.

[@Proxicus]

I started masking when I realized it wasn't right to be this lonely when college came about and I realized I had been in my own head for such a long time. I was always the quiet one, always listening, and observing..., but my childhood was so unusual. My dad was very popular and famous among the old people and I always hung around the old people. I had to deal with being a young person surrounded by a village of elders but then the young would teach me how to have fun. I guess this is getting sentimental but I prefer my privacy to stay that way.

[@underourrock]

@@Proxicus lately I've been looking at masking as a tool. It feels good to better understand who I am and how I am. Not having to mask all the time feels good, but I think that it can still be useful in some situations. Sometimes those situations are just dealing with people I'll see for a short time and never again. I guess what I'm saying is that by not feeling like I have to do it all the time, it makes it easier to do sometimes when it might be useful. I find comfort in understanding.

[@milodemoray]

Thanks for all you do Dave. As for having autism, or being somewhere on the spectrum I think you are a star. Keep up the good work.

[@michaelgeorge819]

You do have a good sense of humor, subtle. It is interesting that there are medical terms now for conditions that in the past would have just elicited name-calling and probably a beatdown in elementary school. BTW, I am there too, with OCD and Tourette's.

[@spiritualbutterfly-uq1cf]

I just found out I’m high functioning autistic at 45 and that explains everything in my life.I thought it was Tourette’s because of my tics but nope. I wish I would’ve found out when I was younger. I would not have gone through life thinking something was wrong with me. Thank you sir oh yeah creativity✌🏻❤️🦋

[@flxmkr]

Yeah, I always felt like I was on the outside looking in. I was diagnosed with ADD. I already knew I had that before I was diagnosed. But I was so different from everyone else...yet, I didn’t care. I couldn’t understand why we had to match stripes with solids (and not stripes with plaid). Even in college, dorm mates were grabbing me on the way out the door and redressing me so I would look more presentable. 🤣 I don’t think we are wrong in our thinking. I know for a fact we are different. And it’s the different thinking that causes neurotypicals to see things they missed. Because they follow the crowd. We create our own paths.

[@02091992able]

I wasn't found to have in until I was 13 a 7th grader in jr high. My mother suspected it and tried to get me tested well before that, but the councilor saw no reason to do it. They thought I was just depressed in 3rd grade. So, the school sent me to a shrink that diagnosed it as depression and prescribed Zoloft which I refused to take, because I felt it was unnecessary. Today I don't like to take medications unless it's absolutely necessary. Only got a certain recent vaccine just to shut my mother up who only got it to shut her family and her mother up. Was lucky not to be those that got the crippling side effects. It was a para educator that had certification for testing students for Autism. They still called it Asperger's then I still end up calling it that. I don't care if it links to some scientist that did work with the Nazis. Are we going to throw out the knowledge known on Hypothermia because most of it came from Nazi scientist observing concentration camp prisoners? The cancel culture crap is just stupid.

[@sophiaromanow622]

@@02091992able No we wouldn’t, but Asperger’s just isn’t a thing, so it’s not the same at all. Autism and Asperger’s are the same thing, but with one of them you’re better at masking than the other, and you experience different amounts of different symptoms at different times. It’s like addressing ADHD and ADD as two separate things. They’re caused by the same thing and have the same symptoms, it’s just that with one of them the hyperactivity is more internal than with the other. Therefore, it’s useless to call them two separate things, and so they aren’t. ADD is no longer a disorder, it was something that someone invented incorrectly. So is Asperger‘s. If it was real, someone should’ve just renamed it separate from Autism, but they didn’t. That’s because it’s not real. You cannot get diagnosed with Asperger‘s today. It’s not a thing. You have ASD, and saying otherwise is just wrong, because Asperger’s is not real and is not a disorder that one can have. It’s like legally changing your name. If one changes their name from Lisa to Kate they can’t write Lisa on their license because their name’s not Lisa. You have ASD. The person who diagnosed you said you had Asperger’s because they deemed you “normal” enough to not be autistic. The world now knows Asperger’s isn’t real. If you want to time travel back to when the world didn’t know any better then be my guest, but since you can’t, it’s time to stop saying you have a “disorder” that’s not in the dsm-5.

[@beesquestionmark]

When I was a kid my sister used to tell me all the time that I had Tourette’s. I think it’s just adhd and autism tho, I don’t have tics so much anymore besides touching my hair incessantly. But I used to have a facial tic where I would scrunch up my face and look at my cheeks and that’s why she thought that. Kids are weird lol

[@saxabass]

I’ve always thought I have Tourette’s too but am now realizing autism explains so much about me

[@billgreen4592]

Thanks for speaking about ASD. Your story is quite similar to mine. I had no clue that I was on the spectrum until a relative that was studying social work said, "You know that you had ASD. don't you?" I laughed it off, but it prompted me to be evaluated, and you know the rest. This diagnosis has helped to answer so many questions, and the follow-up work has greatly enhanced my life. I will be checking out your book and again thanks!

[@garychap8384]

Also a software engineer, also proudly autistic : ) My adult diagnosis as age 45 changed EVERYTHING for me. Before that I felt like an outsider and was masked and anxious all the time, scared that someone would discover that I "really didn't belong". But being suddenly able to explain me to ME, meant I could finally explain me to OTHERS... and, you know what, everyone has been so cool with it. Best of all, I don't need to mask among my friends - I am "seen" now, which is so liberating. I too pushed back against the diagnosis at first... but the more I looked into it, the more things about me, relationships and my childhood made sense. I wasn't just "weird" ... well, I was weird, but I wasn't JUST weird ; ) Now I only mask when I need to. I'm so glad you wrote this book - I may be a little late to the party, but I'll definitely buy and recommend.

[@arasb3258]

Data's struggle with the correct blink rate per second, we get it.

[@a_c35]

I always knew I thought significantly differently than others and had no idea what autism even was. I found out I had it when I was talking to a friend with a phych degree and they responded to something with "yeah, but I dont have autism like you do" and she was kinda shocked I didnt know I was autistic. I then talked to my other friends with psych degrees and they confirmed it and also assumed I knew... because after all, how could you not know? well, since you only think like you think, you find the way you think normal. even when you understand you dont think like everyone else, it doesnt lead you to think that you have a disorder. knowing what I know now, I think the idea that autism is something new is BS. Look through history about stories with odd people mentioned, many of them are described with symptoms of autism. autism has always been around, there just werent doctors diagnosing people with it for most of human history

[@kathydent2116]

"since you only think like you think, you find the way you think normal".... Well, the point about theory of mind and empathy is that many human minds actually can to think and feel like someone else thinks and feels, but some can't and you are one of those. You are right about the fact that all humans have always been somewhere on a spectrum that includes things that are now labelled autism. All this labelling is an illusion. There is no 'test' for a so-called disorder that has only been invented in the last forty years. Humans are infinitely varied and always have been.

[@kathydent2116]

@Karl with a K I have worked with really autistic people. Their disability makes them unable to function in society. It's a disability that couldn't possibly pass unnoticed until middle age.

[@PeterCooperUK]

I’m diagnosed and my immediate reaction to the question was to question the question and say neither 😂 I did spend a lot of my diagnostics session asking questions about their questions though.

[@xzonia1]

That question doesn't really work for women. I had it beaten into me as a child that being helpful and cooperative to others was all that matters, and my creativity is irrelevant. I would never answer such questions how I feel, but rather how the world expects them to be answered.

[@username00009]

OMG your response just affirmed my decision to NOT pursue a diagnosis. I question EVERYTHING, and although I can be empathetic I am much better at problem solving than listening to people vent. Other than knowing without a doubt, what’s the benefit in receiving a diagnosis? Can I use that to get out of having to use the camera during calls? 😂

[@jarto10]

You probably question everything to avoid talking about yourself, either because you don't have a clear identity or you don't want anybody to enter your bubble (typical asd)

[@mamastired7033]

@@jarto10 you have my attention. I am now going to research more on asd... i thought it was just my upbringing but I'm fearing ive been masking all this time. I always watched my mum flick in and out of emotions... hmmm

[@ThimbleFox350]

yeah haha something autistic people get alot is "you ask more questions than anybody I know"

[@victoiredeleusomme4257]

just bought your book for my granddaughter. I got the audible version for myself. with any luck you may provide some keys for us to use in solving a painful time for said granddaughter whom I love very much. Thanks for making the effort to write it down.

[@brunamagrini9014]

At 63 I finally feel that all of those feelings of never belonging, having to mask myself, losing jobs due to not being to process some tasks and blurting out in conversations, I don’t know how I made it this far sustaining myself mimicking normalcy

[@RemnantCult]

As an autistic person, I would have never guessed. You do a great job masking. All the things you've done takes an incredible amount of effort and I'm really happy you've achieved it all. Perhaps knowing this can help me through my own journeys, as a developer and as a woman.

[@FlyboyHelosim]

As an autistic person, I did guess. The lack of facial expressions for a start is a dead giveaway.

[@kvdrr]

@@FlyboyHelosim it's like a blind person saying they didn't see it coming lmaaaoo

[@FlyboyHelosim]

@@kvdrr Yeah and I also think he's milking it a bit. This whole 'autistic millionaire' thing is going to become a meme just like that TechLead guy who titles his videos "As a millionaire...".

[@kvdrr]

@@FlyboyHelosim A propos "milking", I loved the times when you made a fortune by putting a bunch of lesbians in your video game in tandem with trivial, politically correct storyline, preconceived message that nobody in their right mind could have found profound and use homophobia as an excuse for invalidating all criticism. My guess is that people just love to have their worldview asserted rather than inferred. I know you didn't ask for a rant but oh well

[@SonicBoone56]

I don't mask it much. People tend to either like me or hate me. I've just gotten better at expressing myself

[@PeterRichardsandYoureNot]

This could be my life biopic. While I followed a similar path, I didn’t end up at Microsoft here in the pnw. My brother focused my autism related skills in coding inward toward our family company and we grew wildly successful. The problem is in those days, no one recognized what was going on, so, essentially people thought I was just a robotic nerd with little to no empathy for others. Dealing with computers and code was easy….straight forward, and gave an intended result. No complexities of emotion, relationships or interactions. In the end….a lifetime later, I found a spouse who understands me for what I am.

[@aikou2886]

I want some of that! For real, I might not be a good coder yet but I feel the same exact way. And even if I didn't feel that way, there's still the fact that coding genuinely brings me lots of fun to the point I'm much happier isolating myself in my room studying some programming than going out or something. But yeah… relationships are kind of a difficult topic for me.

[@recoveringsoul755]

I was in the math/computer/astronomy classes in college, didn't graduate but worked in computer field. I guess being female it was easier to get dates, as in guys wanted to get into my pants. Just now realizing I'm probably autistic, was diagnosed with Epilepsy at 14 which can be comorbid with ASD. Now my mom being a psychologist makes sense, and her stimming, why we were only allowed to invite one child for our birthday parties as kids. Why my husband made fun of me because I liked animals and going to the zoo, always quoting the line from Rocky "Retards like the zoo". What a jerk. Also he said the photographs I took were Rainman photos, at one point I asked for noise cancelling headphones, and he got them for me. I didn't tell him it was to try to block out his loud voice. I don't like crowds, parties, loud noises, was thrilled to make it through school without ever going to a prom. At one point I wanted to work for NASA and search for extraterrestrial life, until I realized they were a military organization. I hate getting my picture taken so he always shoved the camera in my face, don't like making eye contact it makes me feel too vulnerable and exposed, so he always demanded I look him in the eye just to torture me. I see signs in all my siblings but they won't talk to me now, and in one of my kids.

[@username00009]

@@recoveringsoul755 I hope the fact that you write about your husband in the past tense means that he’s no longer your husband. He sounds so rude, although I have known people in my life who think it’s funny to do things that others don’t like.

[@leslierhorer1412]

You are lucky. I have never found anyone, anywhere who understands me. Very few, if any, like me, and only a very small handful love me. Such is life. As I said before, I really could not care less whether I am or not - either way, I absolutely refuse to be labeled in any way, but I do not think I am. No one ever called me a nerd (at least not to my face), but then trying to insult me has always been considered a *VERY* bad idea. I happen to enjoy violence, and I was quite good at it when I was younger. More to the point, I am a very emotionally oriented individual. I respond extremely well to love and affection, and offer them both freely unless I am afraid of being rejected. (It happens I am also a coward.) I have zero attention deficit. It is natural for me to apply a LASER focus for as long as any task requires, completely at my discretion. Whenever I obsess over something, it is because I choose to do so, and I can stop at a moment's notice. I have no problems with change, as long as the change involves actual improvement. I am very good at manipulating people, if I choose to do so (because I have empathy), but I hate people who manipulate others, so I choose not to do so. I am pretty good in math, but certainly no savant. I am extremely good at physics (my degree) and engineering (my profession). Outside of my advancing hearing loss, I rarely have any trouble understanding what people are communicating to me. I often have problems communicating to others, but this usually stems from the fact I cannot fathom that anyone does not know the things I have known for sometimes more than 5 decades. I took geometry, biology, English, and history in high school. Didn't they? Computers have been around since the 1960s. That is about 60 years. Why does anyone over the age of 18 still need to have their fundamentals explained? I don't engage in repetitive behaviors unless they are necessary, and I mean *ABSOLUTELY* necessary. Otherwise, I avoid them like the plague. My interests are very eclectic, and I find few topics boring. Unless the task is repetitive and mindless, I also find most activities fun or interesting. I absolutely love acting and being onstage, and just about every other aspect of theater. I enjoy parties, but only intimate ones of fewer than 20 or so people. My point in all this is I do not seem in any significant way to fit the profile of someone with ASD as I am given to understand it, yet my professional life and much of my recreation revolve around science and engineering. Some of the conversation here has seemed to suggest those who are technologically or scientifically capable also are autistic. I submit that is far from the truth. I also submit the reverse is far from the truth. I do not know if all those with autism are highly intelligent, but I would not expect it to be the case. Even if it is true, however, certainly severe autism would seem to preclude one from being a scientist or an engineer, or perhaps even a programmer. Even programmers must be able to interpret to some extent the real world, and scientists and engineers must interpret it quite deeply. I am not personally familiar with anyone with extreme autism, but I have seen films of a few of them, and I do not think most, if any, could manage to interpret the real world or use that interpretation to practical effect. I do not for a moment doubt that many people dealing with autism are highly intelligent, nor that many, perhaps most, can lead fulfilled lives as very successful technologists. You and Dave would seem to be examples.

[@leslierhorer1412]

@@aikou2886 Well, I am not sure what "going out" means to you. I certainly enjoy eating out, but I would rather watch a movie with a handful of people in my own theater than go to a commercial theater, for many reasons, not the least of which are we can watch whatever we want, we can stop the move whenever anyone has to pee, and I can absolutely choose who sits near me, and all of us have the best seat in the house. I would never choose engineering work or scientific study over SCUBA diving or a train ride through the mountains, but I still do love design work and scientific inquiry. That is fortunate, because people are willing to pay me for the latter, which in turn allowed me to do the former.

[@olivermcintosh8281]

This is my story, kinda. I’m a great starter but seldom finish, projects. Also got diagnosed in my mid 40’s, and own my talents, in corporate. Thanks Dave.

[@matthewrippingsby5384]

Dave, these are wonderful videos. This one is so powerful, such a clear analysis of the whole shebang! 'I didn't realise... it was normal to be strange...' Your work relieves me of the pressure of explaining these things - thanks! Matthew Ferns

[@NVRMTmotion]

Your hints along the way we're enough insignt to realize I should get tested myself a few months back. Assumptions confirmed. Positive ASD, and it's been an amazing experience. Explains so much of my history and makes current challenges much more interesting and approachable! Keep up the good work Dave, damn inspiring, congrats on the book!

[@paulbarnett227]

Yeah - the diagnosis was liberating for me.

[@Mr_Yeah]

How does the diagnosis help you in your life?

[@NVRMTmotion]

@@Mr_Yeah imagine being colorblind your whole life and just assuming that the reason that other people seem to experience things that you literally cannot understand is that you're doing something wrong, and if you just tried hard enough or learned to just look at things they way THEY do that you'd eventually see what they seem to see when looking at a painting.... And then you find out that, nope, trying harder isn't gonna cut it, you have get a diagnosis, something specific that let's you choose appropriate solutions instead of beating yourself up trying to do things the way everyone else just seems to do them naturally Personally that means it's much easier to relax in situations that previously were extremely stressful because I'd spend the whole time trying to figure out how pretend to to meet expectations. The end result is I'm much less awkward because I'm not carrying that burden anymore, I'm just being myself. Could plain old therapy have gotten me there, VS a diagnosis? Maybe, but even the therapist's reccomendations for neurotypical VS ASD individuals are going to be different to best fit the neuro reality of each. Just like study tips for neurotypical VS Adhd need to be different.

[@paulbarnett227]

@@Mr_Yeah Understanding that I’m not going mad.

[@paulbarnett227]

@@NVRMTmotion before my diagnosis I tried therapy. What a complete waste of time. Therapy can fix thought processes in a neuro-typical brain but it can’t change a differently wired one. I finally got to accept who I was and now quite enjoy being a bit different from the ‘norm’

[@WarrenGarabrandt]

Is there any chance we'll see an Audible Audiobook of this narrated by you? I'd buy that in a second, for sure.

[@adamonline45]

Just wanna second this!!! I can't focus on a text book, but couldn't imagine another narrator!!

[@BDBD16]

Thirding it for momentum!

[@ceb1970]

Yes! I have six Audible credits that I need to burn through 😆

[@GeorgeStyles]

4thing this please. My son has ASD and ADHD, and I am untested shall we say... please make it happen :) (have downloaded kindle trial anyway)

[@bertholtappels1081]

Absolutely agree on the Audible comment.

[@magic.marmot]

Thank you. I've had a life-changing experience that has left me with unexpected family, my niece and her son. He's been diagnosed as level 2. Brilliant, reminds me of me back in the day. We have bonded, and I'm pretty sure this is one of those things where circumstantial serendipity had a confluence, and I am facing a course correction in life. And holy crap, it's hit me hard enough that I've requested an assessment for ADHD at least, but I grok the inside-awareness part of being on the spectrum. I've had some incredible social training, performed improv for about ten years, have major empathy that makes me shun crowds because I can "feel" everyone around me. I don't know if I 'm on the spectrum. If I am, it's level 1, I'm rather high functioning, but I have an awareness of others that is very loud inside my head. I'm trying to give him guidance, learning how his mind works. He's brilliant, clever, attention span of a steroid-infused gnat. Needs stimulation and attention. I can work with that.

[@theorthobiker]

I have very recently been digging and researching to see if I have autism, or if I should consider the possibility that I have it, or if I am just introverted. I have worked in IT for the last 15 years, and I am very good at seeing patters to either find outage level issues or resolve them. As such, I have been pigeonholed into a troubleshooting role for much of those 15 years, and other duties requiring a methodical approach to processing large amounts of data, or asks requiring one to sift through and organize large amounts of data to complete a particular task. Yet, despite working in IT for 15 years, my Bachelors is in History, my post graduate is in Theology, and I have a hand in quite a few creative areas - Bass Guitar, Watercolor Painting, and even my KZbin channel. Your video has given me some things to think about.

[@madudding]

My twin brother turned me onto your channel about four months ago. The primary reason besides great content was he identified you as being on the spectrum. I am a father of triplets with a daughter and twin boys who are on the Spectrum. As I’ve learned more about ASD, I’m coming to the realization that I’m somewhere on the spectrum myself. I look forward to reading your book.

[@aikou2886]

I've read autism has a genetic factor so that might be the case. A lot of people on the spectrum say they discovered they were autistic because their parents/offspring were and then it led back to them. In my case I'm 95% sure I am but then I also realized my sperm donor has certain traits that make me suspect he's also on the spectrum.

[@bentownsend1872]

The first time I watched one of your videos, I knew something was a little different about you. It did not register as being weird or not normal in the slightest, but rather a unique quirk on how you present your ideas and explanations. Now that you mention that you are on the spectrum, it makes 100% sense. I too was diagnosed with autism but at a young age, so seeing that there are more and more people on KZbin who are similar to me makes me realize that I am not doing half bad. I am really intrigued on your book, and I am considering picking it up even though I haven't really read a book in years. Hopefully it will not only help me but also those that I know, keep up the amazing work!

[@CheeseBrie]

I'd say it depends on the scale we're talking about. If it's only like 5 people working on a project, then creativity matters more. Cooperation between 5 people already isn't hard, and channeling creativity into something usable would be fairly easy. If we're talking about a couple hundred people working on something then definitely cooperation matters more. You already have a bunch of people, with different backgrounds, different life experiences, different views on stuff etc. Basically you innately have a lot of creaticity just by there being a lot of people, but channeling that to something useful is much harder, so this time cooperation triumphs creativity.

[@ocpud2999]

As someone with autism I do appreciate your honesty and your channel.. nice to know you are not alone

[@eamonia]

I love the snapshot you use of your face in all your thumbnails. That's such a great picture of you. It really speaks to your friendly, happy demeanor. You're the coolest, dude. A truly inspiring guy, you are.

[@dansiegrist1728]

I feel a little silly commenting on a video that's been out for over a year, but, Dave, I thoroughly enjoy your content, approach, erudition, and presentation. You've overcome some serious obstacles and are doing a wonderful job. Thanks so much for sharing your story. With warm regards...

[@DavesGarage]

Thanks for the kind words!

[@technowey]

Dave, I expect you know everything I'm about to write about the subject of high-functioning autism. I'm neurotypical. My younger brother is ASD-1. It's a tradeoff. While social cues are an issues with autism, most people who are ASD-1 are above average intelligence, and there are advantages to your way of thinking. My brother has empathy, however, because of his lack of awareness of social cues, sometimes people mistakenly think he doesn't have empathy. A lot of neurotypical ways of communicating might seem like ritualistic behavior, although sometimes it speeds up communication. However, in some circumstances, it also can waste time. The ritual greetings people make in phone calls are necessary to connect socially so that a caller isn't seen as being cold and indifferent, however, in a lot of cases, just getting to the point of the call would be much more efficient. You're a great person. You made the world a better place. I'm sure you're wife and children are lucky to have you. I know the tech-community is lucky to have you. Of course, you're lucky to have your wife and children too! :) It must be annoying to be told you're different when older, however, if you weren't the way you are, you probably wouldn't have accomplished the things you did, so I hope you're glad they way you are. I know the rest of us are. Update: LOL - I'm getting forgetful in my old age. I just saw the post I wrote two years ago below. Doh! There are three things that happen when you get old. The first is you start to forget things, and ... I can't remember what the other two things are! ;)

[@_jonathanburrows]

Only found your channel recently Dave. Enjoying all your content and have ordered the book! Thank you :-)

[@alexdatsko]

Thank you so much for this video. I am 41 and recently have been discovering that I may be affected by ASD and this has made my life quite difficult at times (actually most of the time). I have a child who was diagnosed recently and things are starting to fall into place and make a lot more sense to me.

[@dyscotopia]

I literally couldn't pick between them.. Maybe I should take the larger test. I was diagnosed as an adult with ADHD, but my ability to relate to my peers was seriously impaired as a child to the point I wasn't allowed to skip a grade due to "poor social skills" (never mind that I could have charming, erudite conversations with adults)

[@username00009]

The fact that you couldn’t pick probably indicates that you’re on the spectrum. 😀

[@christinerobinson9372]

I decided on creativity. Cooperation is very important, but without creativity, we would still be apes. The creative ones would still be alive. Alone, but alive. But really, both are equally important. It's indecision that's the killer!

[@zainmushtaq4347]

@@username00009 Black-n-white thinking is also associated with ADHD

[@zainmushtaq4347]

Once you understand that ASD and ADHD share 90% of the symptoms, an "improper" diagnosis can lead to the reasons behind those symptoms to be neglected, thus making you easily lean towards one or the other. ADHD is the more "defined" one with ASD having super blurry lines and being a whole spectrum, so don't dwell too much on it. ADHD can make you "miss" social cues and make you lag well behind your peers mentally (in terms of executive functions at least), so not having enough social experience (bc of lack of focus, being lost in own thoughts, and chasing dopamine-inducing activities) + being mentally "immature" than your peers (according to Dr. Russell Barkley, in general, an ADHD brain is 30% behind of its age) means you could've had a hard time relating to your same-aged peers and having to catch up with your social skills later on in life :)

[@dyscotopia]

@@zainmushtaq4347 excellent points. It took much observation from afar to learn the social dance (and I still get it wrong often enough!). When I graduated I started going to a lot of underground dance parties which gave me prime opportunities to observe various interactions. It didn't hurt that people tended to be very open and accepting and I felt I could be a little more me instead of awkwardly fumbling for the "appropriate" persona. Rather than trying to fit in, it's better to seek out the people we're already a good fit for

[@theboy-uk]

Oh dear, a (ex) software developer has diagnosed me with Autism from another continent 🤣. Thanks for the video and your honesty about it all. I think many of the top IT engineers must be somewhere along the spectrum, so my ears pricked up when you referred to it as the technology gene - it's all making perfect sense now, along with the campfire man story.

[@SteviesEarthBasedKitchen]

I think that fearless, love driven creativity naturally leads to collaboration, but collaboration doesn’t always lead to creativity, but sometimes groupthink and self consciousness, so I am going to go with creativity.

[@beckerboy1225]

I can relate to this experience so much. Whenever I tell people that I have autism they always say something like “but you seem so normal!”.

[@mayaplaskon9826]

The fact that people that have that come out of their mouth think THATS a normal thing to say

[@NuLiForm]

..there goes my coffee..sprayed..laughing out loud....i wish i had even a dime for every time i've been told that.

[@wynnhorton1208]

I am not offended at all by such statements, but am highly offended when they know I have Aspbergers yet *still* expect me to be 'the hostess with the mostest' - which I can be sometimes, but now I hide that skill, too, because I am expected to *constantly* be that way and it feels like constantly being asked to perform, to be on stage and this saps my energy. Ex: If I am bubbly with John but not with Jason, Jason gets butt-hurt and others think I want to date John. It's like I can't win, so often I stay silent and stolid.

[@Halfendymion]

"You don't _look_ autistic." "Well you don't look _idiot_ but there you are!"

[@luism.raposo5138]

I think I have autism. I'm going to have to get checked out. Then I hope everything will make sense to me about my life. This is a good video you made. Helping other's understand them selves helps a lot. Much respect for you to do that. Thank you!.

[@onestevewaffles]

do you have autism?

[@colleencox3939]

"I grew up knowing i was pretty damn different but I didn't know it was also normal to be that different and that it had a name and that there were millions of people just like me." EXACTLY.

[@rv6amark]

Sorry I didn't see this when it came out. I just ordered your book, and am heading over to your other channel first. I worked with a guy who was on the scale. It was a good learning experience for me. He was fortunate that his mother recognized his condition and so he was taught how to survive in society, but he had to make conscious decisions about how to react many inputs. He died at 62 a couple of years ago, and I miss him.

[@chadsteinbeck6881]

Thank you for this! Right as you were hinting I was starting to feel that I was on the spectrum. It was hard to wrap my mind around, and devastated me. Thanks for the book, I'll definitely buy it.

[@_M_a_r_t_i_n_M]

This is beautiful. I remember you alluding to it in the very first video of yours that I have watched. I keep trying to get my younger brother to watch your videos. Who had Asperger's and was diagnosed at the age of 5 and went from dysfunctional to fully functional on his own accord through his life and as an adult. I admire the strength he has inside. But he needs to be humbled at times nowadays. He tends to ride a high horse for some reason. I gotta put him in his place every now and then. He is a beginning software engineer. He has gone to college for it. But needs more education.

[@nychold]

Okay, the 10 second test took me about 120 seconds, and this is what I came up with: It depends on what you mean by more important to society. Cooperation will allow a society to survive, since everyone will work together to achieve that, but it won't allow that society to grow intellectually or advance. Creativity will allow the society to advance by finding new way to do things and grow intellectually, but can lead people to creating small niches of society, fracturing the whole and ultimately cause the society to collapse. Ultimately, I don't think there is an acceptable answer for me. They're both vital, for different reasons.

[@LordFalconsword]

I went most of my life thinking there was a book on how to be an adult and deal with other people, but nobody gave it to me. Ironically, now I'm a bestselling author.

[@jannikmeissner]

I am 2e (in my case ADHD and being gifted) and my answer to your 10 second test was a clear and concise "creativity"; But honestly, I never realised you never told us, I love your videos and to me it was always an obvious thing that you were on the spectrum, but it makes you "you" and you're a cool guy who makes super cool videos.

[@awesomeferret]

Spooky. I chose "cooperation" but still consider myself to be on the spectrum. What's spooky about it is how I would have never realized he was on the spectrum if he hadn't said it.

[@SianaGearz]

@@awesomeferret I don't think he's such an obvious case looking from the outside. Had he not been dropping not-so-subtle hints all the way along the way, i wouldn't have thought of it. I saw a vid by a certain Nick Lucid, i think a physicist, where he finds out, and... yeah just look at him for about 3 seconds, it could hardly be more obvious, for someone who would be described as "high functioning".

[@G1ZQCArtwork]

When I was about 10, my Dad caught me behind the Settee with the house Torch, in bits on the floor. Instead of just taking it from me and telling me off, he said "see if you can put it back together and make it work" I said thats easy (I had a photographic memory). I put it together and switched it on. I showed him, then put it back in the drawer where I had found it. Been in Electronics ever since. Passed my Radio Amateur's exam and talked all around the world on Short Wave. I have built and serviced Computers for years. I was an Arcade Machine Mechanic, right from the Mechanical days, to the present ones. I was also a specialist teaching Assistant to Special Needs, my main role was in ASD & ADHD & Challenging behaviour modification. It takes all sorts to make a world.

[@bruceallen6492]

Hi Dave! I'm sorta reading/skimming your book. I am enjoying it! I like your future careers in chicken farming and/or being a Mortician. I guess they both require planting something. I grew up with the Addams Family in the early 1960s. Uncle Fester was told he needed to become a marriage councilor. I ignored all my teachers and became an engineer too. Congrats to you too for ignoring the voices OUTSIDE your head and doing what you wanted! Creativity is always more important, unless Warner Brother's Cartoons are on TV of course! I'm an old VMS developer and it is the best operating system in the universe! ;)

[@HeathInHeath]

Thanks for opening up about this. I will visit your Autistic Millionaire channel soon as I do have some questions and thoughts.