Beyond a unique sense of humor, I find common comedy that has everyone laughing in the room, leaves me bored and unimpressed. I want to laugh, not trying to be difficult, disrespectful, negative or mean
Female adult Autistic here, i think females are under diagnosed as women are often told to calm down and stop getting emotional. So we get swept under the carpet. Also, it was really hard for me to get an assessment as I had to justify to my NHS Therapist why I felt I needed the assessment. Well hello obviously to see if I have Autism which I suspected I had due to me thinking differently to others. To add insult to injury, the Therapist then said even if you did get a diagnosis of Autism, how will that make any different to your life. I literally had to justify, yes it would as it would help me look into the matter further and learn acceptance of myself.
The very same thing happened to me. It took me a whole year to plead my case until I was able to even get referred, but I was, and excepted for an assessment. Now I have to wait 2 + years to find out what I know to be true.....
I was diagnosed as autistic a few years back when I was 60. I am still struggling to come terms with the diagnosis even though I had begun to suspect that I was, oddly after I had taken four years training as a counsellor during which I was praised for my insights into clients' concerns eg understanding the subtext of the situations they described. One disappointment was that having gone through life being entertained by my own imagination and feeling I was special in a good way, I now feel like a textbook case. I spend most of my time alone now, not wishing to upset peopole - although I still do that, just on-line
My friend, who I've known since school, was diagnosed at nearly 50. When she told me I was like ahhh that makes sense. She feels better knowing about her autism, she now knows that all of her lists and databases are all for a reason. Also that she's not stupid, scatty or lazy, she autistic. CBT has helped her massively
I was diagnosed in my mid 50s. It was a trauma and I didn’t know at all. I was also diagnosed with ADHD. Remaining undiagnosed wrecked my relationships and career. The world does not want anyone to be different. Thank you for doing this video, albeit some of the examples are too basic and stereotypical
Congratulations on your diagnosis, and welcome to the autism community. The examples in this video are dreadful. I've just done a response video to this one.
Studies have revealed significant gender disparities in autism diagnosis, as males are diagnosed at substantially higher rates compared to females (Lai et al., 2015). Factors contributing to the underdiagnoses of females with autism include diagnostic criteria based on male presentations of the disorder and a lack of awareness among professionals of the unique characteristics of autism presentation in females (Rynkiewicz et al., 2016). Furthermore, research indicates gender differences in referrals for therapy services, with autistic boys referred more frequently than autistic girls (Cridland et al., 2014). This referral disparity could reflect the wider societal perception of autism as a male-dominated disorder and the requirement for increased understanding and education surrounding the unique requirements of female autistic individuals. This is a little chunk from my MA dissertation 😊
Older lady here (and retired school teacher)...my best friend is autistic. Brilliant, artistic woman and perfect just the way she is. I told her to take a look at this---she said, "So, if I subscribe to his channel, the birds will not shit on my car?! That is awesome!" I did explain.
Ever heard of the double empathy. People on the spectrum are human. My empathy with others on spectrum is spot on. With other human no so great. Cognitive empathy I can't recognized it's the response to it that get messed up. As person the spectrum, I love going to club. One huge caveat, has to pay the right music. Heavy Metal and not issues at all. Country bar, and nope can't do it. It's as bad as going into a body shop. What's with wannabe cowboys and cologne, do they bath in it.
I don't think he had heard of double empathy until you pointed it out. I would be grateful if the doctor would use his apparently superior empathetic nature to empathise with how I felt about such a dehumanising video.
Congratulations on your diagnosis. Your comment is a perfect response to anyone who says they dislike labels (yes, I know there are plenty of bad labels - autistic isn't one of them).
I can distinctly remember not being interested in a toy I was given as a 5 year old for my birthday. My parents thought it would be wonderful, a big Tonka brand fire engine, with moving parts such as the swiveling boom ladder. I didn't react how they expected, and was actually criticized for not showing interest or gratitude. I didn't make a big deal, I just didn't know what to do with it. I didn't talk very much either, another major clue, but I was well behaved and compliant so it was explained away as being an easy child. Nobody thought to consider the possible reasons why I was too easy, and not like the other children. I struggled with mental arithmetic too, couldn't visualize the numbers in my head, so was reminded on a weekly basis how dumb I was. Again, nobody bothered to investigate why. I actually have a high-ish verbal IQ of 132, which is above average, and I have a tendency to blurt out the correct answers to obscure questions, although not for topics like sport for which I have zero interest.
My dad has undiagnosed autism. I’m sure of it. My son has diagnosed autism. My dad is 80 years old and I always knew that he was very odd and my parents’ marriage was destroyed, and I like to think that life would have been better if he’d been diagnosed and had appropriate help. I’m so grateful that my son has the help and support he needs. ❤ 1) My dad refuses to eat cheese. He has a visceral reaction to it. He also orders the same meal every time we go out to eat. My son has a very limited palate, but he’s working on it! 2) I remember my dad getting unreasonably upset when school was closed because the power was out, and he had to take us home before he could go to work . (As a math and computer science instructor in eighties, kind of stereotypical, right? 😂). I was actually afraid because he was so upset about it, and that’s probably the only reason I remember it. My son doesn’t seem to care about routines as much. 3) I don’t really think my dad has a special sense of humor, but my sweet autistic son has a very, very hard time understanding sarcasm despite being raised in a ridiculously sarcastic family. 😊 He still has to ask sometimes if we’re being sarcastic or not. Even though he usually understands at this point, he never uses it himself. 4) My dad doesn’t like animals any more or less than anyone else, but my son has a deep connection to animals and so do I (although I’m not autistic). 🐱 🐕 4) Yes! I see that in both of them, but I also have that. 😊 Now I’m paranoid that I’m autistic, lol. Pretty sure I’m not though. I’m just a weird in a more typical way. 😂
Holy sh. What you say about your dad and his marriage is what's been haunting me for the last two years. My dad's health and memory has deteriorated though before I started wondering so it's so hard for me
@@zeddekaIt’s not OCPD. It’s pretty classic autism. I’m sure he would be diagnosed if he were younger. I could give more details that are pretty stereotypical autistic behavior. He was a ham radio operator and would tell me all about it and point out all of the radio towers to me even though I couldn’t possibly be less interested in radio towers. 😂 He was obsessed with the Civil War and Beethoven. He had an old camera collection and a few other collections. (He probably still does, he’s still alive, lol). He can’t relate to young children. He has a fascination with dates. When the cashier gave him a total that sounded like a year (ex. $17.52), he would say, “That was a good year,” and then proceed to list important events that occurred that year. I used to be so embarrassed, lol. There’s much more, but he has so many stereotypical traits of autism.
1 in 100? Oh, that's so cute! On my maternal side we have ~17% ASD & another 17% ADD. Yes, it's definitely genetic. I've been independently studying the chromosomal anomaly in my family for the past few years (biochemist/ genetic genealogist) & was shocked to discover a small group of distantly related individuals who also had the same anomaly. I have definitively traced it back 6 generations but still haven't found the common ancestor for the extended group which has some fascinating evolutionary implications. And yes, my oldest daughter (who's half Bengali) is ASD, and doing very well. About to graduate from a performing arts college. So, WOC with ASD are out there, but you often don't find what you're not looking for...
1 in 100 is an old start from over a decade ago. Latest I've read is 1 in 23. that's due to several things. like Combining 4 disorders in DSM to 1 spectrum. Then late diagnosis and women being diagnosed. So that makes sense. Roughly 4 times the diagnoses now. Add women for more and the late diagnoses of women and men.
i'm glad you made a video about autism!! i hoped for it in the comments some videos back. my sense of humor is quite unique i guess but people tend to love it!! or at least other medical students, all of my jokes are medicine related puns. i think my delivery makes it even funnier because i'm very monotone and can seem like a very serious and unfunny person at first so you wouldn't expect a person like me to be a real jokester. i sometimes miss sarcasm but i've learned to be more aware of it so i can ask whether someone was being sarcastic or not. people can't always tell whether i am being sarcastic or not either but sometimes i am able to use sarcasm successfully and sometimes i add that it was sarcasm for clarification. i also don't feel pressured to laugh if i don't find something funny. especially when people are just being mean and masking it as a joke.
I literally had this experience with croissants as a kid. I would warm it up, then gently peel it and dip it in warm milk before savoring every bite. I figured out that I was allergic to milk and later also realized I feel better without gluten, but I can still enjoy the memories decades later. Mmmm I do have a very strong connection with my 5 cats. My exception to what you’ve said is that I like listening to loud music as long as I have ear plugs. Especially if the place is dark and loud, it’s better to avoid talking to people.
Yep. The other 95+ percent also likely have no clue at how difficult difficulties in these three areas can make life! Nor how rich they can make it! If I could make words and those consistently, then maybe I could explain such things. Thanks for providing useful insights on this!!!
Ominous Shahimonous is great 😊 I was diagnosed in my late 40s, but everyone knew I was VERY different from babyhood. I wasn’t sure if I was a narcissist, psychopath or whatever else…… My diagnosis was helpful. I am now a dog trainer when my disabilities allow, (having been a lawyer, and studied vet med). I understand dog emotions and body language very well - much better than I do humans. My world domination plans are going very well 😅
Agree, I suspect it's more than 1 in 100. I live in NYC and have worked at some public corporations. A friend who worked higher up in human resources helped me understand how to recognize autistic coworkers. She believed that over half of all the C-suite executives were on the spectrum and she is correct. Next time you are at a business conference at a top company, pay attention! You will have a revelation. They are also the majority of most of the Meetup organizers. Not all, but I'd say the majority. They love organizing Meetups! I'm not sure why, but I have attended many Meetups and was intrigued that over 90% of the organizers (group leaders and initiators) were on the spectrum. They make great Meetup facilitators!
Why would a HR person have any clue how to diagnose Autism? Is she a trained Psychologist that specialises in Autism diagnosis? If not, she should STFU.
So many folks have autism and by meeting so many folks I have learned to recognize the signs. I feel it's pretty apparent in the body language and facial expressions. Aspergers: there is often a remoteness. For the high-functioning types, it's there, you will notice it in the social remoteness and hyper focus in work, machine-like focus. The more people you are exposed to, the more you will be better at starting to notice it. Many of the symptoms you describe are stereotypes of lower functioning autistics. Most of the autistic people I have met do not necessarily fit neatly into your profile. It is often more subtle and not so obvious. Aspergers: they are often in high level positions in Fortune 500 companies in NYC.
'High-functioning' downplays the real struggles that certain autistic people have (hello), and 'low-functioning' downplays certain people's abilities, infantilises them, and is usually an innacurate way of describing an autistic person who has a disability. Also, can we please stop using the word 'symptoms' - autism is not an illness.
Definitely agree with more than 1 in 100 are diagnosed autistic in the UK, especially as everyone is lumped into the “spectrum.” I am all 4 out of 5 😂 not looking forward to part 2 cause I know that I’m going to be called out! But I can’t wait for part 2 at the same time 🤣 Thanks Dr Das 👍🏽
Super smeller may not be a superpower but I might tell you that I have identified several things (petrol leak, gas leak and oven ring left on low and about to catch fire to a pot) before anyone else could smell it, in the case of the petrol weeks before it was eventually diagnosed as a dangerous petrol leak that could have made the car explode! In the case of the oven i saved the house from catching fire, so pretty superpowers to me 😅
That doesn't necessarily mean that he's autistic though. If we could all diagnose people as autistic so easily, why would we need 19 letters after our name?
I keep returning to the idea I might not be autistic. Your video snapped me to back to the reality. Do you think high functioning autistic adults should stay single. I find my emotional ability means I can't work. I am on disability. So not only am I autistic, I don't learn an income if I am living/ married to someone. So I become burden. This also makes me a easy target for abuse. I am considering remaining single. A video on this subject might be very helpful for autistic people and their loved ones.
Yes!! I totally think I'm hilarious and I love making people laugh... Althoufh my ex used to tell me he cant tell if im being serious or not bc of my expression... all the while im cracking up on the inside. My best friend and others ace often said, "You should see your face right now" because apparently when i think im being funny i dont cone across that way. And, I definitely have a hard time knowing when people are joking with me because I'm so literal or i dont get it. Out of if 5 of these things, im high on all 5!
I have Autism/ADHD and I am also an empath. The thumbnail seems a little odd for a choice as I presume the young man in the middle is on the spectrum and almost looks like he is being ridiculed. I'm 58 and was an extreme masker and my story is fairly unique. My autistic voice came out a year ago after a mental rewiring that took 7 days and it could be compared to a mental breakdown of sorts. So I was talking through my adhd most of my life and my thought to speech comes from 2 places in my head, I can feel it. These are traits of autism that you are referring to and the only reason it's considered a disability is because our traits don't align with what our medical specialists consider a normal way of thinking. You speak from a perspective that seems like you know what we feel, not sure if you are on the spectrum? We are not all bothered by strong smells, it's specific strong smelling things. Some perfumes are nice and some are offensive with how strong it is. Fresh cilantro being cut to me is offensive some may like it. The sensitivity to the eating part is a bit skewed, I think most people don't like loud slobbish eaters or open mouth chewers. No I don't hope they choke but would not repeat eating with them again by choice. I do love animals but not because of some fantasy that they understand me, in fact I gravitate to women for empathy and support. If I plan to have a day where my routine is different, yes I have to mentally prepare because it's a process but that won't be a huge problem. The problems are unplanned things that come up suddenly and we have not been able to prepare for and that becomes a problem. I think we are ready to start thinking of having the traits of autism are by design and served a purpose with the way we are supposed to live and the same with ADHD but don't believe they were designed to be together in the same person. I have 2 separate thought processes that communicate with each other and rationalize everything that happens in my life. My senses have doubled after unmasking and have learned more in the past year than my entire life. I also would like to mention that we are more aware of things and people than what it may seem. We are observers and listeners after all, a lot of which is kept internalized. I may have an advantage because I can sense and feel others emotions but it can also be way more chaotic than you can imagine. I have been hyperfixated on my thoughts going on 6 weeks now and learning about myself and orhers perspectives. Being misinformed can cause some to be hyperfixated on that information and could be hard to get back on track. I don't feel you are trying to be disrespectful to the autistic community but many of us do feel that your examples are extreme and not everyone is going to have these types of reactions. It's what the non autistic people need to understand and painting an extreme perception may give skewed opinions on the traits. I'm very autistic forward and stim all day with vocal stims and tics, my autism stutters and stammers when I speak and my adhd does not and I can feel it in a different place with my thought to speech. Your passion seems genuine to me and I think you could gain more insight and have a better understanding if you ask us questions about different situations to have a baseline to campare it to. I know you have seen hundreds of patients but if you want more accurate information on autism to put it in a better perspective it would be very helpful. I totally respect you and your work and this is not meant to criticize but rather inform on what makes us tick. 👻🤪🌶🤘😎♾️
I have been working with an individual who has Agenes of Corpus Collosum. He has recently been subject to Criminal Justice System Intervention. I would be interested to know your views if this condition exascipates offending behaviours.
Personality 'quirks' and autism/a neurological difference are entirely different things. To even suggest an equivalence is to undermine autistic people, who are likely to have already experienced years of being misunderstood and invalidated.
I wonder if you could talk about AuDHD? Can symptoms of neurodivergence be masked by trauma, if a nervous system is deeply frozen? Could this be a future topic perhaps? Thanks so much! 🙏
I have a partner where all males in the family have some sort of level of the soectrum. He is extremely diffult to handle. He has very poor mechanisms for exoressing emotions. It is either haooy or angry for him. There are is also repetative body picking. Performing math in the head is his gift.
I’d love to know your thoughts about potential over diagnosis of autism in adults currently. I have lost count the number of people trying to get assessed and who think they are on the spectrum. Even listening to them I start to wonder if I should get a diagnosis myself. What would rule someone in and out of a diagnosis? A typical case: socially anxious, sensitive to external sounds, crowds, tendency to isolate, sensitive to scratchy clothes, bullied at school, has some symptoms of adhd also, ruminates on social interactions, feels different. I feel this is basically most patients I assess, plus myself. Surely we are not all autistic? Where is the line?
There is no over-diagnosis. One reason is because after the DSM IV was revised and the DSM V came out, many similar conditions were then put under the ASD umbrella. Another reason is that as we become more connected in this age of technology, people like me have discovered their autistic traits (NOT "signs" or "symptoms - this is NOT a disease, it's a neurological difference!). This has led to adults like me learning about ourselves and discovering that the differences we always knew (or suspected) we had, and all the difficulties and challenges that we had growing up, now, as adults, make complete sense. Going for a diagnosis is not trendy or cool, it's bloody well important to an autistic person's wellbeing. The stigma attached to being autistic is still nasty. Do you really think we want a label that makes us even more of a target? So please, consider being kinder and more understanding.
@@grooviechickie Well said. It's so depressing that we need to keep repeating this, but... *rolls up sleeves*...we must keep repeating. Autism isn't over-diagnosed; it has been UNDER-diagnosed for centuries.
My sense of humour is so dry that it isn't funny. I tend to relate better to machines than people. However, if an inanimate object does something I don't expect it to do (eg: fall off the bench, roll away from where I put it, or some other annoying thing, particularly if it does it repetitively), I tend to tell the object to "stop that," as if it were another human. I know it can't even hear what I say, let alone understand and do as I tell it, but I still feel compelled to say it anyway. When I have a particularly enjoyable motorcycle ride, I tend to give my bike a pat on the fuel tank and call it a "good ol' girl." I don't know what it is about talking to machines, but it's just something I tend to do.
Oh no i like you Doc,but my autistic son is never violent .what is it with Psychiatry and giving people Labels, when i was 22 i was told by a Psychiatrist i have a predisposition to violence, guess what i am 67 years old and Lived my life in a total non violent way.Psychiatry is not really a factual science on many Levels.Its the same as Psychopathy and Shiziophrenia. People in the mental health industry are always going on about stigma of mental illness when in fact its mental health workers including some not all Psychiatrists that create this predjudice and stigma.for example not all psychopaths are violent but the way Psychiatrists portray them, makes the general public predjudice to them.
@@alexiachamberlin8019 No problem. No need to be sorry. An acknowledgement from the doctor would be good though. This video is full of mocking stereotypes and outdated language that dehumanises autistic people.
🖼Hi Dr. Das. The autistic people I've known in my life are either antisocial, violent, or both. I don't care for either of these because I have anxiety & their behavior just makes my condition worse. Thanks for your good explanation of these difficult, easily misunderstood folks. I love your channel & and I hope you're doing fine, ✌️ peace, love, Miss Janine💯🍩🌴🧸🚘🎶🎵🌺
The autistic people I've known in my life have been lovely and empathetic. I'm currently 5 and a half minutes into this video and I have never felt so dehumanised.
If the most common age for Autism diagnosis is 5-years old. The how does this fit with the fact that mental disorders come out when we're 17/18 during adolescence when our true personality comes out?
Maybe we need a new word for autism which is hard to spot. I have worked with extremely autistic adults who needed full time care because they could not look after themselves or control their behaviour. Those on the "spectrum", especially self diagnosed TikTokkers are a whole different thing. Love your vids Doc.
Self-diagnosis is a problem online, also many young people thinking it's "cool" to be autistic. It isn't. I was diagnosed late and my life has been a car crash and still is.
i don't think those tiktokers you are referring to should be considered autistic at all (not all self diagnosed tiktokers but i know what you're talking about) so we don't really need a new word for it, we can just call them quirky. we just need to acknowledge that it is a spectrum and some people have very high support needs while some don't. i know it can be frustrating to see people who are just a little quirky or have very low support needs or have never met a person with high support needs speaking over those with high support needs, throwing them under the bus or completely distancing themselves from them. i hate it too as an autistic person with low support needs. my autism is somewhat visible as in people can tell that there's something different about me. even i feel ostracized by the "just a little quirky autistics" sometimes because they can be quite mean when your autism isn't just all quirky, you are socially different or do something they consider cringey.
As an “high functioning” autistic woman, I agree! I think it’s unfair to them and myself to be lumped into a spectrum, because as always, the more seen people will get the attention, empathy and understanding and the lesser seen will always be seen to be “faking” it or being lazy! I’m annoyed that the diagnosis of asperger was taken away, it should just have been renamed! People understand the difference between asperger and autism purely because they are two different names and MAYBE life would be a crumb better for us!
@@Jae-by3hf Yes the split between autism and Asperger was sensible but it turned out Herr Asperger was quite a nasty man doing horrible things for the Nazis. They could just give it another name though.
"your jokes are so inside that their own gravity forces them to collapse inside themselves" > someone gets me!!!
Yep, this stranger gets me more than people I've known my whole life!
Beyond a unique sense of humor, I find common comedy that has everyone laughing in the room, leaves me bored and unimpressed. I want to laugh, not trying to be difficult, disrespectful, negative or mean
Female adult Autistic here, i think females are under diagnosed as women are often told to calm down and stop getting emotional. So we get swept under the carpet. Also, it was really hard for me to get an assessment as I had to justify to my NHS Therapist why I felt I needed the assessment. Well hello obviously to see if I have Autism which I suspected I had due to me thinking differently to others. To add insult to injury, the Therapist then said even if you did get a diagnosis of Autism, how will that make any different to your life. I literally had to justify, yes it would as it would help me look into the matter further and learn acceptance of myself.
The very same thing happened to me. It took me a whole year to plead my case until I was able to even get referred, but I was, and excepted for an assessment. Now I have to wait 2 + years to find out what I know to be true.....
@@fynnandfynner Accepted- U will find out the Assessors are experts.
I was diagnosed as autistic a few years back when I was 60. I am still struggling to come terms with the diagnosis even though I had begun to suspect that I was, oddly after I had taken four years training as a counsellor during which I was praised for my insights into clients' concerns eg understanding the subtext of the situations they described. One disappointment was that having gone through life being entertained by my own imagination and feeling I was special in a good way, I now feel like a textbook case. I spend most of my time alone now, not wishing to upset peopole - although I still do that, just on-line
My friend, who I've known since school, was diagnosed at nearly 50. When she told me I was like ahhh that makes sense. She feels better knowing about her autism, she now knows that all of her lists and databases are all for a reason. Also that she's not stupid, scatty or lazy, she autistic. CBT has helped her massively
I hate labels, they're very reductionist. No two people are the same, first and foremost we're individuals.
me too
@@deedee7733 Yes, but an aversion to labels can make it more difficult to gain support.
@@deedee7733I prefer my autistic label to the ones I lived under for 54 years. Lazy, naive, stupid, weak
I don’t fail to understand other people’s feelings. I fail to understand how to respond to them.
I was diagnosed in my mid 50s. It was a trauma and I didn’t know at all. I was also diagnosed with ADHD. Remaining undiagnosed wrecked my relationships and career. The world does not want anyone to be different. Thank you for doing this video, albeit some of the examples are too basic and stereotypical
Congratulations on your diagnosis, and welcome to the autism community. The examples in this video are dreadful. I've just done a response video to this one.
I'm pretty sure I already posted a comment welcoming you to the autism community. Seems to have been deleted.
Be yourself you are smart and a good person be different the world is boring if everybody is the same you are unique❤
Studies have revealed significant gender disparities in autism diagnosis, as males are diagnosed at substantially higher rates compared to females (Lai et al., 2015). Factors contributing to the underdiagnoses of females with autism include diagnostic criteria based on male presentations of the disorder and a lack of awareness among professionals of the unique characteristics of autism presentation in females (Rynkiewicz et al., 2016). Furthermore, research indicates gender differences in referrals for therapy services, with autistic boys referred more frequently than autistic girls (Cridland et al., 2014). This referral disparity could reflect the wider societal perception of autism as a male-dominated disorder and the requirement for increased understanding and education surrounding the unique requirements of female autistic individuals. This is a little chunk from my MA dissertation 😊
👆the only person in the comments who knows what they're talking about
Yep. Female here, finally got diagnosed at 50
@@somersetaussi Thank you!!! Good luck too!
You can thank Simon Baron-Cohen for that highly male skiewed view of ASD. Total tool
Thank you for speaking up for us, good luck with your masters 🙏🏽🩷
Older lady here (and retired school teacher)...my best friend is autistic. Brilliant, artistic woman and perfect just the way she is. I told her to take a look at this---she said, "So, if I subscribe to his channel, the birds will not shit on my car?! That is awesome!" I did explain.
“You can do it, put your back in to it” is my favourite line, cause I can hear the song in my head 😂❤
Ever heard of the double empathy. People on the spectrum are human. My empathy with others on spectrum is spot on. With other human no so great. Cognitive empathy I can't recognized it's the response to it that get messed up. As person the spectrum, I love going to club. One huge caveat, has to pay the right music. Heavy Metal and not issues at all. Country bar, and nope can't do it. It's as bad as going into a body shop. What's with wannabe cowboys and cologne, do they bath in it.
I don't think he had heard of double empathy until you pointed it out. I would be grateful if the doctor would use his apparently superior empathetic nature to empathise with how I felt about such a dehumanising video.
I have been formally diagnosed very late in life. It has been a struggle. However at least I understand more now.
What have you learned that helps you understand and / or function. Only answer if you feel like it. ♡
Congratulations on your diagnosis, and welcome to the autism community.
Congratulations on your diagnosis. Your comment is a perfect response to anyone who says they dislike labels (yes, I know there are plenty of bad labels - autistic isn't one of them).
I can distinctly remember not being interested in a toy I was given as a 5 year old for my birthday. My parents thought it would be wonderful, a big Tonka brand fire engine, with moving parts such as the swiveling boom ladder. I didn't react how they expected, and was actually criticized for not showing interest or gratitude. I didn't make a big deal, I just didn't know what to do with it. I didn't talk very much either, another major clue, but I was well behaved and compliant so it was explained away as being an easy child. Nobody thought to consider the possible reasons why I was too easy, and not like the other children. I struggled with mental arithmetic too, couldn't visualize the numbers in my head, so was reminded on a weekly basis how dumb I was. Again, nobody bothered to investigate why. I actually have a high-ish verbal IQ of 132, which is above average, and I have a tendency to blurt out the correct answers to obscure questions, although not for topics like sport for which I have zero interest.
I'd be interested to know more about ADHD or ADD please.
Already recorded! Will be out on the channel in the next couple of weeks.
I was diagnosed at 52… lots of answers… Love your jokes and delivery! Thank you for the great content 👌♥️
Thank you for this! Looking forward to part 2!
My dad has undiagnosed autism. I’m sure of it. My son has diagnosed autism. My dad is 80 years old and I always knew that he was very odd and my parents’ marriage was destroyed, and I like to think that life would have been better if he’d been diagnosed and had appropriate help. I’m so grateful that my son has the help and support he needs. ❤
1) My dad refuses to eat cheese. He has a visceral reaction to it. He also orders the same meal every time we go out to eat. My son has a very limited palate, but he’s working on it!
2) I remember my dad getting unreasonably upset when school was closed because the power was out, and he had to take us home before he could go to work . (As a math and computer science instructor in eighties, kind of stereotypical, right? 😂). I was actually afraid because he was so upset about it, and that’s probably the only reason I remember it. My son doesn’t seem to care about routines as much.
3) I don’t really think my dad has a special sense of humor, but my sweet autistic son has a very, very hard time understanding sarcasm despite being raised in a ridiculously sarcastic family. 😊 He still has to ask sometimes if we’re being sarcastic or not. Even though he usually understands at this point, he never uses it himself.
4) My dad doesn’t like animals any more or less than anyone else, but my son has a deep connection to animals and so do I (although I’m not autistic). 🐱 🐕
4) Yes! I see that in both of them, but I also have that. 😊 Now I’m paranoid that I’m autistic, lol. Pretty sure I’m not though. I’m just a weird in a more typical way. 😂
Holy sh. What you say about your dad and his marriage is what's been haunting me for the last two years. My dad's health and memory has deteriorated though before I started wondering so it's so hard for me
There are a number of other things that looks like autism. OCPD for example (which is quite different to OCD)
@@zeddekaIt’s not OCPD. It’s pretty classic autism. I’m sure he would be diagnosed if he were younger. I could give more details that are pretty stereotypical autistic behavior. He was a ham radio operator and would tell me all about it and point out all of the radio towers to me even though I couldn’t possibly be less interested in radio towers. 😂 He was obsessed with the Civil War and Beethoven. He had an old camera collection and a few other collections. (He probably still does, he’s still alive, lol). He can’t relate to young children. He has a fascination with dates. When the cashier gave him a total that sounded like a year (ex. $17.52), he would say, “That was a good year,” and then proceed to list important events that occurred that year. I used to be so embarrassed, lol.
There’s much more, but he has so many stereotypical traits of autism.
1 in 100? Oh, that's so cute! On my maternal side we have ~17% ASD & another 17% ADD. Yes, it's definitely genetic. I've been independently studying the chromosomal anomaly in my family for the past few years (biochemist/ genetic genealogist) & was shocked to discover a small group of distantly related individuals who also had the same anomaly. I have definitively traced it back 6 generations but still haven't found the common ancestor for the extended group which has some fascinating evolutionary implications.
And yes, my oldest daughter (who's half Bengali) is ASD, and doing very well. About to graduate from a performing arts college. So, WOC with ASD are out there, but you often don't find what you're not looking for...
1 in 100 is an old start from over a decade ago. Latest I've read is 1 in 23. that's due to several things. like Combining 4 disorders in DSM to 1 spectrum. Then late diagnosis and women being diagnosed. So that makes sense. Roughly 4 times the diagnoses now. Add women for more and the late diagnoses of women and men.
Love your daft jokes mate. Keep them coming
i'm glad you made a video about autism!! i hoped for it in the comments some videos back. my sense of humor is quite unique i guess but people tend to love it!! or at least other medical students, all of my jokes are medicine related puns. i think my delivery makes it even funnier because i'm very monotone and can seem like a very serious and unfunny person at first so you wouldn't expect a person like me to be a real jokester. i sometimes miss sarcasm but i've learned to be more aware of it so i can ask whether someone was being sarcastic or not. people can't always tell whether i am being sarcastic or not either but sometimes i am able to use sarcasm successfully and sometimes i add that it was sarcasm for clarification. i also don't feel pressured to laugh if i don't find something funny. especially when people are just being mean and masking it as a joke.
I literally had this experience with croissants as a kid. I would warm it up, then gently peel it and dip it in warm milk before savoring every bite. I figured out that I was allergic to milk and later also realized I feel better without gluten, but I can still enjoy the memories decades later. Mmmm
I do have a very strong connection with my 5 cats.
My exception to what you’ve said is that I like listening to loud music as long as I have ear plugs. Especially if the place is dark and loud, it’s better to avoid talking to people.
I am so glad I found your site.
you had me at no bird will poop on my car. subscribed!
Yep. The other 95+ percent also likely have no clue at how difficult difficulties in these three areas can make life! Nor how rich they can make it! If I could make words and those consistently, then maybe I could explain such things. Thanks for providing useful insights on this!!!
Ominous Shahimonous is great 😊
I was diagnosed in my late 40s, but everyone knew I was VERY different from babyhood. I wasn’t sure if I was a narcissist, psychopath or whatever else…… My diagnosis was helpful.
I am now a dog trainer when my disabilities allow, (having been a lawyer, and studied vet med). I understand dog emotions and body language very well - much better than I do humans.
My world domination plans are going very well 😅
Personally I found your style really engaging, i followed you from the ICMAP podcast. 😊
Agree, I suspect it's more than 1 in 100. I live in NYC and have worked at some public corporations. A friend who worked higher up in human resources helped me understand how to recognize autistic coworkers. She believed that over half of all the C-suite executives were on the spectrum and she is correct. Next time you are at a business conference at a top company, pay attention! You will have a revelation. They are also the majority of most of the Meetup organizers. Not all, but I'd say the majority. They love organizing Meetups! I'm not sure why, but I have attended many Meetups and was intrigued that over 90% of the organizers (group leaders and initiators) were on the spectrum. They make great Meetup facilitators!
Why would a HR person have any clue how to diagnose Autism? Is she a trained Psychologist that specialises in Autism diagnosis? If not, she should STFU.
Nibbles feels my pain! 🤣🤣🤣
You're great!
So many folks have autism and by meeting so many folks I have learned to recognize the signs. I feel it's pretty apparent in the body language and facial expressions. Aspergers: there is often a remoteness. For the high-functioning types, it's there, you will notice it in the social remoteness and hyper focus in work, machine-like focus. The more people you are exposed to, the more you will be better at starting to notice it. Many of the symptoms you describe are stereotypes of lower functioning autistics. Most of the autistic people I have met do not necessarily fit neatly into your profile. It is often more subtle and not so obvious. Aspergers: they are often in high level positions in Fortune 500 companies in NYC.
'High-functioning' downplays the real struggles that certain autistic people have (hello), and 'low-functioning' downplays certain people's abilities, infantilises them, and is usually an innacurate way of describing an autistic person who has a disability. Also, can we please stop using the word 'symptoms' - autism is not an illness.
Definitely agree with more than 1 in 100 are diagnosed autistic in the UK, especially as everyone is lumped into the “spectrum.” I am all 4 out of 5 😂 not looking forward to part 2 cause I know that I’m going to be called out! But I can’t wait for part 2 at the same time 🤣 Thanks Dr Das 👍🏽
Super smeller may not be a superpower but I might tell you that I have identified several things (petrol leak, gas leak and oven ring left on low and about to catch fire to a pot) before anyone else could smell it, in the case of the petrol weeks before it was eventually diagnosed as a dangerous petrol leak that could have made the car explode! In the case of the oven i saved the house from catching fire, so pretty superpowers to me 😅
Wow this describes someone I work with, he doesn't make conversation shrinks into the background when you walk past him, won't make eye contact.
That doesn't necessarily mean that he's autistic though. If we could all diagnose people as autistic so easily, why would we need 19 letters after our name?
Great video!
About the description for this video.. is this supposed to be written out? 😅
[Top two lines - keywords for SEO-these lines show first]
Thank you for sharing this information.
But it's MISinformation.
I have 5 children with autism glad you spoke about this thanks doc ❤
Born 1972, female. Began suspecting autism about 10-15 years ago. Now beginning to believe Autism and ADHD... jeez!😮
Hi, Ominous Shahominous!
sup x
I keep returning to the idea I might not be autistic. Your video snapped me to back to the reality. Do you think high functioning autistic adults should stay single. I find my emotional ability means I can't work. I am on disability. So not only am I autistic, I don't learn an income if I am living/ married to someone. So I become burden. This also makes me a easy target for abuse. I am considering remaining single. A video on this subject might be very helpful for autistic people and their loved ones.
Yes!! I totally think I'm hilarious and I love making people laugh... Althoufh my ex used to tell me he cant tell if im being serious or not bc of my expression... all the while im cracking up on the inside. My best friend and others ace often said, "You should see your face right now" because apparently when i think im being funny i dont cone across that way. And, I definitely have a hard time knowing when people are joking with me because I'm so literal or i dont get it.
Out of if 5 of these things, im high on all 5!
I’m 60, and getting ready to pursue a diagnosis for ASD. Was late diagnosed with ADHD. Life has been beyond challenging, ngl.
The video starts two minutes in, you’re welcome.
The unfortunate thing is that it started at all.
I have Autism/ADHD and I am also an empath. The thumbnail seems a little odd for a choice as I presume the young man in the middle is on the spectrum and almost looks like he is being ridiculed. I'm 58 and was an extreme masker and my story is fairly unique. My autistic voice came out a year ago after a mental rewiring that took 7 days and it could be compared to a mental breakdown of sorts. So I was talking through my adhd most of my life and my thought to speech comes from 2 places in my head, I can feel it. These are traits of autism that you are referring to and the only reason it's considered a disability is because our traits don't align with what our medical specialists consider a normal way of thinking. You speak from a perspective that seems like you know what we feel, not sure if you are on the spectrum? We are not all bothered by strong smells, it's specific strong smelling things. Some perfumes are nice and some are offensive with how strong it is. Fresh cilantro being cut to me is offensive some may like it. The sensitivity to the eating part is a bit skewed, I think most people don't like loud slobbish eaters or open mouth chewers. No I don't hope they choke but would not repeat eating with them again by choice. I do love animals but not because of some fantasy that they understand me, in fact I gravitate to women for empathy and support. If I plan to have a day where my routine is different, yes I have to mentally prepare because it's a process but that won't be a huge problem. The problems are unplanned things that come up suddenly and we have not been able to prepare for and that becomes a problem. I think we are ready to start thinking of having the traits of autism are by design and served a purpose with the way we are supposed to live and the same with ADHD but don't believe they were designed to be together in the same person. I have 2 separate thought processes that communicate with each other and rationalize everything that happens in my life. My senses have doubled after unmasking and have learned more in the past year than my entire life. I also would like to mention that we are more aware of things and people than what it may seem. We are observers and listeners after all, a lot of which is kept internalized. I may have an advantage because I can sense and feel others emotions but it can also be way more chaotic than you can imagine. I have been hyperfixated on my thoughts going on 6 weeks now and learning about myself and orhers perspectives. Being misinformed can cause some to be hyperfixated on that information and could be hard to get back on track. I don't feel you are trying to be disrespectful to the autistic community but many of us do feel that your examples are extreme and not everyone is going to have these types of reactions. It's what the non autistic people need to understand and painting an extreme perception may give skewed opinions on the traits. I'm very autistic forward and stim all day with vocal stims and tics, my autism stutters and stammers when I speak and my adhd does not and I can feel it in a different place with my thought to speech. Your passion seems genuine to me and I think you could gain more insight and have a better understanding if you ask us questions about different situations to have a baseline to campare it to. I know you have seen hundreds of patients but if you want more accurate information on autism to put it in a better perspective it would be very helpful. I totally respect you and your work and this is not meant to criticize but rather inform on what makes us tick. 👻🤪🌶🤘😎♾️
I agree with your feedback. On the other hand I did get a feeling that he's a bit, let's say, views-oriented
@@dminnovatores I would say that's fair!!👻🤪🌶♾️
I have been working with an individual who has Agenes of Corpus Collosum. He has recently been subject to Criminal Justice System Intervention. I would be interested to know your views if this condition exascipates offending behaviours.
Undiagnosed autism can turn into Borderline personality disorder. Diagnosis and support is imperative.
What's your evidence for this? Undiagnosed autism can certainly lead to depression.
well, this was certainly a neurotypical point of view.
Yep. Re-heated stereotypes about autism that dehumanise autistic *people*.
Thank yoou ❤ loved the video! Would love to know more of your opinion about the quirks in personality vs autism(or other) diagnosis. 😊
Personality 'quirks' and autism/a neurological difference are entirely different things. To even suggest an equivalence is to undermine autistic people, who are likely to have already experienced years of being misunderstood and invalidated.
@@AutisticNotAlien exactly. that is why i asked for a video to help explain the differences
@@ritasantana9572 Fair enough, but you're unlikely to find it here.
Well, this explains a lot.
Nice job, sure you did well
This doctor has done very high profile cases
I love animals and like to be around animals,find it hard to speak to people,i like my own space,peace and quiet. But it doesnt make me autistic.
I wonder if you could talk about AuDHD? Can symptoms of neurodivergence be masked by trauma, if a nervous system is deeply frozen?
Could this be a future topic perhaps? Thanks so much! 🙏
I have a partner where all males in the family have some sort of level of the soectrum. He is extremely diffult to handle. He has very poor mechanisms for exoressing emotions. It is either haooy or angry for him.
There are is also repetative body picking. Performing math in the head is his gift.
I’d love to know your thoughts about potential over diagnosis of autism in adults currently. I have lost count the number of people trying to get assessed and who think they are on the spectrum. Even listening to them I start to wonder if I should get a diagnosis myself. What would rule someone in and out of a diagnosis?
A typical case: socially anxious, sensitive to external sounds, crowds, tendency to isolate, sensitive to scratchy clothes, bullied at school, has some symptoms of adhd also, ruminates on social interactions, feels different.
I feel this is basically most patients I assess, plus myself. Surely we are not all autistic?
Where is the line?
There is no over-diagnosis.
One reason is because after the DSM IV was revised and the DSM V came out, many similar conditions were then put under the ASD umbrella.
Another reason is that as we become more connected in this age of technology, people like me have discovered their autistic traits (NOT "signs" or "symptoms - this is NOT a disease, it's a neurological difference!). This has led to adults like me learning about ourselves and discovering that the differences we always knew (or suspected) we had, and all the difficulties and challenges that we had growing up, now, as adults, make complete sense.
Going for a diagnosis is not trendy or cool, it's bloody well important to an autistic person's wellbeing.
The stigma attached to being autistic is still nasty. Do you really think we want a label that makes us even more of a target?
So please, consider being kinder and more understanding.
@@grooviechickie Well said. It's so depressing that we need to keep repeating this, but... *rolls up sleeves*...we must keep repeating. Autism isn't over-diagnosed; it has been UNDER-diagnosed for centuries.
Ooh you have a book.. I am off to buy it!
cheers. Enjoy! x
My sense of humour is so dry that it isn't funny.
I tend to relate better to machines than people. However, if an inanimate object does something I don't expect it to do (eg: fall off the bench, roll away from where I put it, or some other annoying thing, particularly if it does it repetitively), I tend to tell the object to "stop that," as if it were another human. I know it can't even hear what I say, let alone understand and do as I tell it, but I still feel compelled to say it anyway. When I have a particularly enjoyable motorcycle ride, I tend to give my bike a pat on the fuel tank and call it a "good ol' girl." I don't know what it is about talking to machines, but it's just something I tend to do.
Oh no i like you Doc,but my autistic son is never violent .what is it with Psychiatry and giving people Labels, when i was 22 i was told by a Psychiatrist i have a predisposition to violence, guess what i am 67 years old and Lived my life in a total non violent way.Psychiatry is not really a factual science on many Levels.Its the same as Psychopathy and Shiziophrenia. People in the mental health industry are always going on about stigma of mental illness when in fact its mental health workers including some not all Psychiatrists that create this predjudice and stigma.for example not all psychopaths are violent but the way Psychiatrists portray them, makes the general public predjudice to them.
I don’t see a part 2.
I was disnosed with Autism in my late 40s
Welcome to the autism community, Andrew. I was diagnosed last year, aged 41. (P.S. This video is dreadful - more helpful content is available.)
I was vaccinated as a child, so definitely I do (I'm not joking).
I only have some symptoms from the third category
*Traits* not symptoms. Autism is a neurotype not an illness.
@AutisticNotAlien ok sorry
@@alexiachamberlin8019 No problem. No need to be sorry. An acknowledgement from the doctor would be good though. This video is full of mocking stereotypes and outdated language that dehumanises autistic people.
@@AutisticNotAlien 👍
@@alexiachamberlin8019 👍
lol doc 😂
Chiggity, indeed.
🖼Hi Dr. Das. The autistic people I've known in my life are either antisocial, violent, or both. I don't care for either of these because I have anxiety & their behavior just makes my condition worse. Thanks for your good explanation of these difficult, easily misunderstood folks. I love your channel & and I hope you're doing fine, ✌️ peace, love, Miss Janine💯🍩🌴🧸🚘🎶🎵🌺
love you too x
The autistic people I've known in my life have been lovely and empathetic. I'm currently 5 and a half minutes into this video and I have never felt so dehumanised.
If the most common age for Autism diagnosis is 5-years old. The how does this fit with the fact that mental disorders come out when we're 17/18 during adolescence when our true personality comes out?
Maybe we need a new word for autism which is hard to spot. I have worked with extremely autistic adults who needed full time care because they could not look after themselves or control their behaviour. Those on the "spectrum", especially self diagnosed TikTokkers are a whole different thing. Love your vids Doc.
Self-diagnosis is a problem online, also many young people thinking it's "cool" to be autistic. It isn't. I was diagnosed late and my life has been a car crash and still is.
i don't think those tiktokers you are referring to should be considered autistic at all (not all self diagnosed tiktokers but i know what you're talking about) so we don't really need a new word for it, we can just call them quirky. we just need to acknowledge that it is a spectrum and some people have very high support needs while some don't. i know it can be frustrating to see people who are just a little quirky or have very low support needs or have never met a person with high support needs speaking over those with high support needs, throwing them under the bus or completely distancing themselves from them. i hate it too as an autistic person with low support needs. my autism is somewhat visible as in people can tell that there's something different about me. even i feel ostracized by the "just a little quirky autistics" sometimes because they can be quite mean when your autism isn't just all quirky, you are socially different or do something they consider cringey.
As an “high functioning” autistic woman, I agree! I think it’s unfair to them and myself to be lumped into a spectrum, because as always, the more seen people will get the attention, empathy and understanding and the lesser seen will always be seen to be “faking” it or being lazy! I’m annoyed that the diagnosis of asperger was taken away, it should just have been renamed! People understand the difference between asperger and autism purely because they are two different names and MAYBE life would be a crumb better for us!
@@Jae-by3hf Yes the split between autism and Asperger was sensible but it turned out Herr Asperger was quite a nasty man doing horrible things for the Nazis. They could just give it another name though.
I personally still use the term ' aspergers ' . I don't care if " they" took it away- it's a helpful distinction.
You’re pretty cute 🤭
Could you analyse the Republican Party’s nominee?
Narcissism.
Avoid the ranting, blathering and weak jokes and just explain it properly. Thanks.
Great advice. Cheers
@@APsychForSoreMinds No. I would like more ranting, weak jokes and quotes from Socrates please!
If anything, the jokes aren't weak enough! Some more blathering wouldn't go amiss, as well.
@@Quadrajettison most of us are here for all 3
I like your jokes, it’s part of your charm