STOP Autism Research (There's a BETTER Way)

Autism theories & scientists come & go without making progress on improving autistic lives. It's time for a new approach.
#EngageAutism #AskingAutistics #BoycottSpectrum10K

"5 Autism Questions You MUST Answer!"

Support Autistamatic on Patreon

Find more at

Autistamatic Merch:

Made with Shotcut, open source video editing software

Images, stock video, sound effects and music not created by the channel have been obtained from YouTube creator resources or from the following sources:

Every effort has been made to ensure that copyrights are respected and that material used is in the public domain. Where copyrighted material is used it is under the terms of "fair use" for educational purposes. All copyrights remain the property of their respective owners.

[hfenring]

Excellent point.
I often think about autism research as an allegory in which a bear expert spends lifetime researching bears by studying their behaviours and one day meets a bear that can talk. This bear wants to tell the researcher about their lived experience as a bear, but the researcher dismisses it, because, after all, it's "only" a bear.
It kind of parallels that philosophical conundrum about "understanding" bats, which is impossible from human perspective, because we can't physically experience the world as bats do.

[scottwascher]

Thank you. Peer support model replaces the behavior/pathological model. An upgrade for research.

[marieugorek]

YES!!!! It's amazing the conclusions allistics come to from data which almost any autistic adult could tell them meant something completely different. If they aren't getting us to help design and interpret the studies, the studies aren't going to show what they think they show.

[buttercxpdraws]

I liked your example of the autistic and non-autistic researcher with the same qualifications. Here is an analogy. There’s a research job for the study of the hearing impaired and how that community can be assisted to live happier, healthier lives, where they are able to more fully participate in and contribute to wider society. A hearing impaired person and a non-hearing impaired person with the same qualifications apply. The hearing impaired candidate will no doubt have greater insight to the challenges faced by their community and the adaptations they’ve already had to make as a starting point. I think most people would agree that the person with lived experience would be the best candidate for the job. Same with autism, no?

[TheQueerTailor]

The scientific community has to deeply engage with their ingrained practices of eugenics before they can create useful research on any disabilities, including autism.

[karrenrex]

Here's a suggestion: stop treating autistic people as if they are no good for stuff, treat them as equally capable in their own ways, equally competent in their own chosen areas, and let them develop and work on their own terms. I am pretty sure the support needs of many autistic people will suddenly plummet. I really like your point.

[gregjs]

Another eye-and-mind-opening video. It’s just amazing the number of things that seem obvious once someone says them; but someone does need to say them because the “pathology framework” is still so dominant.

[yd]

Thanks a lot :)

I think an alternative horizon for nouroD researchers doing things right and being able to do equally good research would be a better understanding of their own epistemologies, the profound philosophical significations about the materialism that underlies their research, and therefore stay in touch with the current most evolved paradigms of their domains that will probably always by determinism include interdisciplinarity and intersectionnality (for what I know of, "situated cognition" for neuro and cognitive sciences, the broad spectrum of cultural studies for social sciences, bayesianism as methodology; then each specific domain, it's vague enough but always heading towards the same point with the same patterns that erase all form of thinking).

However I know that's some idealist thinking (in the common sense) since it structurally clashes with the real life of research with awful politics, financement etc... and also the eternal circle problem that it's unlikely many non-autistic people would gather that kind of knowledge, the way I present it from my autistic thought pattern, then fitting it into theirs.. which returns back to "let autists do research". But individually, if non-autistic researchers want to do research about us... then read us, have a social consciousness of domination, bias, and ableism, and have some consciousness of that underlying science/materialism stuff please.

But I'm positive non-autistic researchers can do autism research just like any members of a majority towards a minority group, or non-ill poeple towards precise illnesses.

[VeronikaVerhulst]

I think non autistic researchers have to involved autistic persons. Because only us, autistic persons who have real experience of life living with autism. Too often bully to us because misinformation, misunderstanding, & misused in autism research.

[autiejedi]

Hear, hear! Brilliant, as usual. Thank you 💜

[theranredguardist]

Why don't we just create an international organisation which can only be lead by us (autists) who will create regional/national suborganisations who'll fight for autists?

[PeppermintPatties]

Hear hear.
Thank you Quinn.
Nothing about us without us.
❤

[RGT-bn]

Hi, I am a student with autism and im doing a masters then planning to go onto doing a PhD. I'm trying to decide what research project to do for my masters any ideas are very welcome! For my degree I did a research paper on autistic students experiences of university life. Which I really enjoyed

[KennethSDyson]

This sounds like a great idea in theory, but do you have any suggestions on how this would work practically? Would research grants for autistic research require that the researcher provide proof of diagnosis? Would it be run on the honour system? I know a few researchers who are weary of getting a diagnosis due to the stigmatism that may be associated with it, with regards to career advancements. The stigma of being autistic in the academic environment needs to be addressed, but perhaps this can only be addressed once the research itself removes the stigma around "symptoms". Seems a bit of a catch-22. In any event I agree that the academy needs to acknowledge these issues and work closely with self-advocate groups to develop better targeted research programs.

[mrmukura]

I was just discussing this last week. Spot on man.

[mitch-fsmz]

ive had to tell so many people that its not something u can fix. its how i am. we would need both for it to be better. monitoring both the researchers and researched peoples brains and other factors.

[RedAngelSophia]

Everyone tells me that statistics show that Autistic people are more likely to have intellectual disabilities — so I ask them - how has it been verified that these statistics are actually a result of Autistic people being more _likely_ to have intellectual disabilities, as opposed to, say, a _diagnostic_ bias. Nobody seems to have an answer to that question.

[alanguest]

Very thought provoking video of an idea that should be promoted.

[mrsm]

Interesting video, brilliant as ever 😊

[JAMESGREGORYKULP]

There should be no Autism research what so ever. I am an Autistic person and I want to be left alone medically. I want medical freedom. I don't want to be poked and prodded and treated like some genetic freak or something like that. I have PDD-NOS.