Thanks for having me, y'all! Really happy with how this all turned out.

As Someone with Autism its disingenuous to say it is not a Disability, because it does deeply affect my capacity to do everyday tasks.

Mad respect for Cory putting himself out here like this - thank you for helping us learn!

I fell down a rabbit hole that started with 12tone and now I'm here.

It is totally possible to see autism as a disability while rejecting the dehumanizing deficit-model often used in medical literature. Under the social model of disability, the source of disability is the environment. Barriers in the built environment, in arbitrary social standards, and in attitudes all create an adverse society for autistic people: simply a world that isn't built for our needs. In other words, we are 'disabled by society' even though there is nothing wrong with us. There isn't anything wrong with being autistic, no matter what level of support one requires. But there is something wrong with the world that shuns autistic people and creates barriers to our participation in society. I see autistic people rejecting the disability label because it has negative connotations since our society is prejudiced against disabled people. However, I prefer to embrace the term disabled because the social model of disability just makes sense to me.

I love this video, but it's important to note that autism *is* a disability per the 'social model' of disability, and that is also not a negative thing. It's okay to say someone is disabled if they are autistic. You guys are on the right track with everything else here :)

I appreciate the content (I'm autistic, too), but would prefer you name names when it comes to alleged advocacy groups who don't actually listen to or care about the lived experience of autists. It's hard enough getting anyone to listen to us, much less organizations that consider us broken or cognitively diminished. Having neurotypical people, particularly scientists and other authorities, pipe up on our behalf is a moral good.

12 tone is great.

Fab vid! Despite studying autism a little in neuro modules at Uni, I've never seen such a clear and balanced explanation. My brother and sister are both autistic and agree that we need more autistic people teaching and talking about their personal experience of ASD! Nice one guys!!

I was 42 when I was diagnosed with ASD (a few months earlier it would have been Asperger's). My life and experiences make a lot more sense now.

I started getting counseling from a place that does not pathologize ADHD and Autism, but rather focuses on it as a collection of unique strengths and weaknesses. All this place's staff are either ADHD, autistic, or a combination of the two (primarily - sometimes there's extra stuff that comes along with it). But this place proves that we can function well when we reject the pace the neurotypical world tries to get everybody to function on, and shows that if we listen to our internal cues, we are just fine and do not need to look 'normal'. This was an awesome adjustment in my attitude. I stopped wondering what was wrong with me. I so appreciate help from ppl who don't treat me like a ball of pathologies. Also wanted to say, I resent the attitude that we somehow are lacking compared to the supposed 70% of the population. First off, I'm fairly certain that number is waaay too high to represent the neurotypical population, and secondly, the ADHD and ASD strength of hyperfocusing often puts us at a greater advantage than neurotypicals. I've heard from lots of ppl in these categories who have PhDs, and sometimes multiple degrees. Folks with autism are more likely to be at genius level than those without. There are areas we excel where NTs do not, and vice versa. The fact that we aren't the same is just human nature and a result of differences in neurobiology, and in my opinion, a different moniker than 'disorder' should be adopted. Throughout civilization it is thought that the rapid advances have happened while there were cooperative societal attitudes, and those would have been autism friendly periods. During those times there are more examples of autistic patterning. We're perceptive and contemplative people. We notice stuff NTs miss. And during times when it is evident that society was more allegiance based (us vs them), autistic talents are much less apparent. Those are thought to be the periods where we were rejected. We have a unique ability to help society advance, but are less likely to be able to enact and maintain the mechanisms for change. Rejection of part of the system hurts the whole system. As a society, we are stronger together. Strengths and weaknesses. Everybody's got em. We can't be penalized and forced to function like NTs if we are to develop our strengths.

Thank you for including an autistic perspective, without naming names, some awareness campaigns paint autism as some intrusive parasite that we need to be saved from (if it wasn’t obvious I’m autistic). Autism has created challenges in my life but the biggest ones were caused by not knowing I was autistic, and assuming my brain should be working one way, and becoming extremely frustrated when I could not force it to. Cory’s line about reminding you you’re not broken is spot on. I didn’t find out I was autistic until I turned 30, and something a friend said caused me to research autism in women (which is under diagnosed for many reasons. A lot of women find out they are autistic when their sons are diagnosed, and they recognize the hallmarks of ASD in themselves when it is explained to them). Anyways, very interesting!

Here's a slightly different perspective from what you presented: Dr Michael Merzenich is a neuroscientist who has found a correlation between sound exposure and autism. There is a critical period very early in brain development where every new stimulation (sound, sight, touch, etc) triggers the release of a substance called "brain derived neurotrophic factor" (BDNF), which helps strengthen neuronal connections and promotes the grow of myelin (the fatty covering of myelinated axons). However, BDNF also is responsible for ending the critical period; the brain releases a large amount of it at one time, solidifying all the connections made early in life. Merzenich's theory is that autistic children may have been exposed to too much stimulation of one type all at once, causing too much BDNF to be released and ending the critical period prematurely. This leaves autistic children with below typical levels of neuronal connections, which has been connected to epilepsy. It also explains why autistic children have larger brains, since excessive amounts of BDNF would result in excessive myelin production. Of course, autism is a complex disorder and there are many theories about it. You did an awesome job in giving us facts without dehumanizing those who have autism. I just found you because of 12tone, but I'll definitely be sticking around to check out more of your stuff!

"the only people who get to really decide what autism is are... autists" THÁNK YOU!!! Say it again for the people in the back! And indeed not broken, it get's very frustrating to be treated as less than a "normal" human being. However, scientists still work in a bubble, we "autists" are not being heard, or even worse: our opinions on the subject are deemed incorrect or unimportant. Our experiences are invalid because (and I quote): "human brains don't work that way". And here are hundreds, thousands of autists saying "well our brains dó". Science in this subject still largely dismisses the greatest pool of experts available: us. I've studied bio-mechanical engineering with a strong lean towards neuro-physiology and psychology and did a fair bit of research. As soon as my peers found out I'm autistic all my research was deemed flawed. The fact that I'm autistic means automatically that I can't understand autism. No matter how solid the research my "label" makes it worthless. I've given up on science, speaking to walls for years has not been good for my mental health. My professor even had a paper rejected and hence would loose grant money because my name was one of the 8(!) on the paper. I would like to say he did the "right" thing but alas... Excuse the rant, it's a sore subject, there's so much potential lost, so many people made to feel less, worthless. And we are nót broken, there's nothing wróng with us, we are different. I'd go so far as to call it discrimination but I haven't studied law. Maybe there's an autist out there with a law degree that is willing to fight the good fight? Let us be heard?

My ASD wasn’t diagnosed until I was almost 21 years old. I also have ADHD(PI), which was diagnosed a year earlier.

Thank you for addressing the elephant in the room vis-a-vis autism's misclassification as a disorder. It can be hard to deal with, but I still wouldn't change my autism even if I could. There are a lot of unique benefits that make it worth the difficulties. Thank you for making this great video and for being a good advocate for autism awareness!

I've been diagnosed with ASD recently (1 yr ago when I already was 24 y.o.) and I'm currently still learning how to deal with that. I wish I had learned about that earlier because I've spent a long chunk of my life thinking I was "broken" as 12tone said, and that led to a lot of social anxiety and depression. I really wish the area of mental health was treated with the same importance, prestige and resources as regular medicine, specially in poorer regions/cities/countries.

Fun, interesting video!

Wow. I am currently in a psycho-education group for my autism and I think this video just taught me more about the underlying mechanics than that group will. Thank you so much!

Thank you (and thank you Corey!) for this video. I'm a trans girl on the spectrum and it's nice to hear people talking about ASD without demonizing it and making sure to incorporate a first-person perspective. I really appreciate it! ^_^

I'm autistic too, and I really appreciate videos like these because it feels like nobody wants to cover ASD for some reason. I'm currently in my freshman year of college, and my psychology 101 classes textbook doesn't mention ASD AT ALL. It barely mentions ADHD, and makes sure to spend lots of time talking about phobias for some reason in the section on disorders. At the end of the day, I know more about how a neurotypical person's brain works then how my own brain works, and that shouldn't have to be the case. This condition affects more people then we realize around the world, why can't we teach kids about it in school? After all, the whole "vaccines cause autism" problem is a problem because those people were (more than likely) never taught anything about ASD in school apart from that fact that it exists (and if they're lucky that it involves a spectrum) so maybe making this a less taboo subject would change the world for the better. That's just my two cents. thanks for coming to my TED Talk

The amount of joy I got from this video, finally find someone discuss autism without functioning labels

"Just knowing the term has been really helpful. It's a good way to remind myself that I'm not broken." You're lucky. I was told I had it too, and it's had the opposite effect. Probably because it's easy to translate "disorder" as "disability" or "defect". Though from what I'm hearing here, it's sounding more and more as autism's one of those humanly-produced groupings of certain kinds of people that doesn't have much objectivity, at least in terms of connection.

Love you. I just confirmed I'm autistic at 58. Many subtle problems, symptoms, peculiar behavior. The feeling "I'm loosing something" in several situations ( especially involving humans), smart enough to realize some time later. Genius in the abstract, fool in the social. You described -somehow- fewer and simpler symptoms explains the behavior much better, maybe not now but in my school days. Psychologists, what a waste of time and money. Perception. I think we see the world different. I think my peculiar sense of humor is based in this.

What an interesting video! I think it was your best one (yet). The topic, the way you presented it, the collaboration, everything spot on! 👌 Great work! Keep going in this direction!

This was fascinating. Thanks, 12 Tone, for sharing your experience. Allie, I love your bookcase! Especially Antiope!

Yep, asking what it's like having autism is like asking what it's like to live in _this_ universe; there is an implied comparison to a something else which so far has been impossible to experience. And that is a good question, what is autism and what is just me; or are they different things - what is your neurotypicalness and what is just _you_?

Thank you for not using "functioning labels" in describing Autistics. Phrases like "high/low functioning" or "mild/severe" describe only the observer's perception of us; they do not in any way reflect our internal experience of the condition or the fact that our abilities can change over time - sometimes on a minute-to-minute basis. Also speaking about looking for "treatments" and "therapies" implies that Autism is something that needs to be corrected or cured, which it's not; things like "coping strategies" would be better terminology - we don't need treatment or therapy to cope with the Neurotypical world, just some help.

So I came here from the collab you did with 12tone, but i just wanted to say I am both happy and impressed to see not only a star wars book behind you, but also a mondo rubix cube!

So if we develop a genetic filter to prevent autism, would it be ASDF?

Great video! I think it's really important that people understand autism better.

I Have Autism. That Means I Have Big Brain :D

As someone who's autistic and epileptic(epilepsy is usually in a particular part of the brain,but it can be all over; mine is in my front left cerebral cortex, and that's the part of your brain that deals with executive function, ironic huh?)I really appreciate you bringing this up! I came here from Cory's channel 12tone and I really enjoyed both videos you 2 did together ❤️ 😊

Thank you for this video. I am a father of a child with autism and people need to talk about it and understand it more.

A lot of respect for such a person who has the knowledge about such a topic like this. This helped me understand what goes on with brain functionality. After all, a person with such condition can help understand him/herself better. ASD does after all deal with epilepsy (speaking of my experience). I am also not sure if the signs are shown based on any communication (in the high-end spectrum), physical communication and so on. Most importantly, I am still not sure if this also has to do with being an introvert or an extrovert as well. I agree on most parts of this video though based off of doctor’s analysis.

Appreciate learning what folks with autism experience. My son is profound and we can't have a conversation. He has no reliable speech, little communication ability, can't care for himself with even simple life skills, and no fear, hence he would engage in a lot of SIB and elopement. His affect expressions are all over the map and erratic. I love him more than life itself, but he needs 24 hour care and at age 14 he needed to be placed in a 24 hour care facility to provide him with proper care. It has been a challenge, but he is a largely happy person. My big concern is that while many autistic folks are quite functional and often wildly creative, there is also the opposite end of the spectrum that is debilitating. I hope to understand why my son's autism is so severe compared to others that have greater communication skills and functional abilities.

Just started watching. As a parent with 3 kids with autism I look forward to hearing what you found out.

Cory, I'm with you all the way I was born with aspergers syndrome and now I have achieved many goals in my life and am proud and wouldn't change who I am:) Keep on rockin', Cory !

Awesome stuff guys, totally true that we're just people in the end

It's important to understand that disability is strongly cultural. If elements of my body, which includes my brain, render me unable to meet the demands of my world or create needs that the world will not naturally meet, then I am disabled in that world, and in the world I live in, being autistic means I am disabled. It's important to not treat disability as a dirty word -- as that can dissuade people from leveraging the resources that can allow them to have a healthy life. I simply could not have gotten through grade school or college without leveraging my country's laws for accommodating disability.

amazing video, thank you

Nice video for discussing the ‘male’ version of autism. I’m a female autistic, and I was hyperlexic at 3 years of age, and any social developmental delays were ignored because I was intelligent and articulate. ASD presents differently in different people.

I was just diagnosed 2 weeks ago at 22. I'm AFAB, so nobody really thought anything of my behavior, although everyone was aware it wasn't typical. My whole life, I just thought I was faulty, like I must have been doing this to myself. I went through so much unnecessary suffering, and I never understood why, until Now. It turns out I wasn't faulty, my brain is just LITERALLY built different. 😭🙌🏻❤

If it’s severe enough it’s definitely a disability lol.. I spend a good portion of my time in a different temporal dimension than everyone else on the physical plane and starting or switching tasks is almost impossible because it feels like I’m dissociating …ugh on the upside people tell me I’m very intelligent and well spoken so it’s not uncommon to feel like the most intelligent but least successful person in the room ..which is an interesting dynamic

This is a very precisive video

It's so true that autism advocacy groups get it wrong . . . Alot. One has to figure that a lack of people who have actually been diagnosed with ASD has alot to do with it. My story is almost the opposite of Corys I was told I may have aspergers syndrome throughout my childhood but I've never been diagnosed. Every test I've taken (and I'm aware how unreliable they can be) has suggested I am more likely to have it than the average person but I don't score high enough to conclusively say that I do. I have found myself in situations where I have tried to do what I was told was right to help or assist people with ASD by friends or people I know in ASD advocacy groups only to be told by the person with ASD that I am not being helpful at all and that my efforts are actually counterproductive. Two or three experiences of such things have been enough to convince me to just listen to the person I'm talking with there and then and let them tell me how I can help them if they need help at all.

Excellent video - very respectful of brain differences and points out that it is really autistic people are those who know autism best.

I wish the people who I thought were my “friends and family” could watch this.😢😢❤️

Thank you for sharing.

The only disorder I see going on belongs to the neurotypicals: prejudice and fear. I learned at age 69 that I have ASD. Now I understand what caused the seizures (that my parents kept trying to deny). I wonder if Corey has synesthesia? I do, and it's a gift I wouldn't trade for anything.

Can you do one about Epilepsy? I have a lot of personal experience with that, but I don't know much about the neuroscience of it.

Godwin's law of mirror neurons states that any sufficiently long discussion of human or animal behavior will inevitably lead to mirror neurons, and which point there's no point in continuing, since there is no more substance left to be found.

Completely off-topic, but I really like your bird shirt.

I've got some autism in me. Though my mirror neurons are slamming. I can notice shifts in what vertebra by looking at a person from the front. And I think that I can feel infections in other people, and hear what part of the throat is tensed when they talk. Looking/feeling the nervous system. Smell it... Hard to say how. But it works wonders for giving massage, correcting blocked passageways and emotional cramps and a lot of other stuff. Did anyone notice that a lot of youtube videos about autism have their comment section blocked? Why is this?

Why aren't we naming names? Autism Speaks does not speak for me. They prey on parental fears to raise money, which has been very effective for them. They have always refused to have anyone on the spectrum on their board. They have gone after people on the spectrum who speak out. They ran a PSA with a mother complaining that her autistic child had no soul. Their record is atrocious. Why not hold them accountable?

I was diagnosed at 19, I was convinced I was broken. Among all my other disabilities; I'm low functioning and it's like living life on lethal mode 😭

Great vídeo!

as an autistic i have problems in social interaction and working at school as i have a minor learning disability so i struggle in school as i keep doing hard work

And I can’t help noticing that Rubik’s cube in the background unsolved. Is this the life I have to live 😂

"while the scientific literature call autism a disorder, that does not make it a disability". I'm autistic and I disagree. I believe that autism is a disability, however I don't see it as a disorder.

Unrelated: I watched big hero 6 yesterday, are those birds on your shirt the logo from the company in that movie???

3:49 it is interesting that the research shows ASD people have more grey matter. There is a genetic abnormality, PTEN Hamartoma Tumor Syndrome and symptoms include macrocephaly and ASD, BUT they have greater white matter to grey matter, the opposite, yet it still presents as ASD. And the greater white matter volume really helps to describe the over stimulation and slower processing speed experienced by them, they are simply overloaded with more stimuli and information than most because of all the extra white matter, but only have the grey matter processing of an average brain. I would love to hear an opinion from a neurologist on this.

Do ASD children have a greater amount of metal or other energy conducting material in their brain as is the case with other types of disorders impacting synapses?

People say autism is on the rise as if its a bad thing... clearly mother nature sees a need for it ❤

6:40 Well, I mean it's a wall... And a prism...

Good content, but I wish the sentences were not run together so closely, I want a moment of time to digest what I just heard.

interesting stuff :o

Would the brain growth also possibly make kids with autism taller in childhood?

I am Autistic myself

Ok, seemingly random question: are the neural connections of women with ASD arranged in penrose patterns?

I don’t think me being has affected myself physically, rather emotionally and socially.

Female from UK diagnosed with #ASD in middle age 💛

I don't like trying to be fooled. Right-hand writing on the back of a music sheet, played in reverse.

I've always felt that there's a small chance that I have autism. (Though if I do, it would definitely be a fairly mild form of it)

I love that this video was made but can we please stop saying autism isnt a disability. It is very much an intellectual disability which causes difficulties with social situations which can and does GREATLY affect the day to day lives of folks with ASD. There is nothing wrong with having a disability, It only means my body was born a bit different and that I need support in some areas of my life. Claiming it as not a disability can be very dangerous and harmful for those who's ASD does affect their lives. I deal with sensory overload due to ASD which greatly affects my day to day living and makes working and traveling more difficult for me. I suffer from anxiety due to having difficulties as a child with social situations. Denying it as a disabilities invalidates those who do suffer from it daily. What we need to do is work on destigmatizing what it means to be disabled.

What the internet has also made possible unfortunately, is for people to make this and almost any other mental health issue a meme. To be fair, this is a social behaviour that has always existed (making fun or being discriminatory against the unknown) but people suffering from this or that mental health issue now can get shat on about it by a factor of thousands whereas before it could only come from people who actually knew you... to some extent anyway. What I mean to say is that this "memeing" everything should have a limit line that should not be crossed and I think armchair diagnosing, ironic namecalling or straight out joking about the issue or specially looking down on people with a mental health issue is a line that needs to be drawn in this new age of over-the-internet communication.

It took me about 2-3 seconds.. but is that song The police - Roxane ? And I did not play it back once.

This video is awesome and I very often come back to it. As a caregiver I need to better understand about my clients' conditions and this is an excellent way to learn. As the video is from 2017 I would like to add my 2 cents, about what was said at 2:09 Fortunately, there is an on going and exciting research where the scientists found neural traces of autism which can be detected with 87% of accuracy. They expect that in the future it can be applied to pre-verbal children and non-verbal adults. Please, find more information at: www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/08/190815113730.htm

"This could also help explain why autism is frequently associated with epilepsy." Well that explains a lot

Oh my I found a rabbit hole

Hello, what about the positives?

0:42 This has taken on another meaning after they came out as agender

3 kids with autism non verbal I want help my kids before I become mental

Despite this supposedly being a video about neuroscience, it surprisingly talks nothing about contemporary research on autism, pointing out unreliable results instead of the bleeding edge and real science.

This video was good but a little confusing, like, it’s explained that it isn’t genetic but then moments later you say that it is. Plus the part of there being “two schools of thought” isn’t true, there’s scientists looking at the over-abundance / or distinctive lack of the neural pathways in the brain, it’s not a war between one way of thinking and another, it’s just an example of the spectrum of its symptoms.

more local connectivity, less global connectivity i think is what they say

Fun fact: Nigeria has the lowest rate of vaccination in the world, and an autism rate of 11%, meanwhile Belgium has the highest rate of vaccination, and an autism rate of 0.6%.

i hate that i am autistic

I am clueless as to why you would put sound effects in a video that Autistic people are likely to watch. I cannot continue watching it due to them.

No Alie I am Allie

This is a good video. Stop tism'm your eyes. Why was the kid bent over? I know psy-ops, stop it.

I have Asperger's syndrome. I do not have autism (there is a difference as I understand it). The most effects that I am dealing with is that I miss social clues in various levels. I do not do any of the thing mentioned in the video, with one exception. I can do get obsessed with one topic(s). I don't think I get obsessed with people (because, people). I also have dyscalculia (problem with maths). As a kid I was treated as I was an idiot or stupid (or both). Mostly because I have problem learning at the speed used in schools (so I just started to learn for my self as money and time allow). I was unable to keep up and always got delayed. What I might have is delayed response as mentioned in the video. But it's not all the response, just some and sometimes I get enlightenment of something and at the point I understand feelings and thoughts that I've been struggling with for years before (this happens at random times). Edit(v3): My feelings do run a little hotter then in person without Asperger's syndrome (this is my personal observation). It's not a long term issue for me since I learn how to control my feelings. What is the difficult is the start and then it gets better as I learn what I am dealing with and how to deal with my feelings. After a period of time everything gets back to normal levels for me.

All I noticed was her wrinkly sweater.

Always gotta add all the “woke” disclaimers, can’t offend anyone. 😂 It’s also interesting how the author can make liberal use of the words “it may” or “possibly” when describing topics/theories about Autism, but when it comes to vaccines it’s a hard “NO”. As parents, we fully have the right to say “vaccines MAY be a contributing factor”.

There is such thing as a normal brain and one that isn’t. Not saying it’s always bad, but to say there’s no such thing as a normal brain is false

I see numerous comments on here regarding the use of 'disability'... disability is a thing done to a person (they are dis-abled) by an external factor which is generally either of human design or that could be mitigated or eliminated as a disabler by human intervention (classic example is steps into a building dis-abling a wheelchair user). the other word in all this is impairment, where this refers to a human function that is impaired. impairments are inherent to the person as-is, disabilities are external things the person is subjected to. the example I tend to use is of a blind and sighted person working late in an office building. it's dark outside and there's nobody else around. the power goes out and an alarm goes off. they need to exit the building but it is now pitch dark. the sighted person becomes dis-abled by the lack of lighting, the blind person's impairment has actually en-abled them in this instance as they are well used to navigating the building without visual cues. that's not to say any individual autistic person does or does not have an impairment. like most humans, I do and tbh I can't easily think of an autistic person who doesn't have some sort of impairment... but the real question is whether that impairment is *part* of being autistic... or just part of being a human. hint: 99% likely it is just a human thing tbh. a LOT of work has gone into reframing not just what being autistic actually is, but then taking what's left and reinterpreting it, renaming it, changing the language used... there's not a whole lot left in the 'autistic' bucket when you're done and most of that is pretty neutral - as likely to be occasionally useful as not, but mostly just slight variations on unremarkable human characteristics you could find in anyone.

Why is she talking like that

what causes Autism Spectrum Disorder

@neurotransmissions a revisit of this topic would be nice, esp in light of the significant shifts in understanding since this video was put together, and to address stuff like referencing 'language delays' as part of dx process... if someone is still doing this (or was still doing it in 2017 for that matter!) they were doing it wrong. if you are interested in this, I can recommend plenty of people who would be happy to riff on monotropism, the double empathy problem, hyperfocus, the key role of sensory differences and a heap of co-occurring characteristics (hypermobility/EDS, LGBTQIA+ ID, ADHD, prevalence of mental health issues and their causes) and discuss stuff like updated assessments of prevalence/ gender disparity rates

Awesome bird jumper