5 Things You Don't Know About Autism (Part 2 of 2)

Just over forty years ago, autism was first recognized as a distinct diagnosis in the DSM-III. Since then, awareness of autism has become widespread among the public and thankfully most of this has been respectful and positive. Unfortunately, there have also been unscientific myths about autism that exploit some people’s confusion and anxiety. These contribute to negative stigma and make it harder for autistic people to truly be understood and flourish in society. Have you fallen prey to any of these myths?

Writer: Brian Cham
Script Editor: Vanessa Tao
Script Manager: Kelly Soong
Voice: Amanda Silvera
Animator: Sun Biscuit
YouTube Manager: Cindy Cheong

References:
Bennett, M., Webster, A. A., Goodall, E., & Rowland, S. (2019). Life on the Autism Spectrum: Translating Myths and Misconceptions into Positive Futures. Springer.

[marytichelaar]

As an autistic person, this spoke to me. Especially the intimacy point, I'm not against the idea but I also don't want to get hurt. It's complicated you know? Growing up I made a few friends and honestly I found out over the years that's the friendships that really stick and be with you through all stages of life. Those are the most meaningful friendships that I've had in my life, and although I have lost a couple of friends along my journey... friendships and relationships that I do have are meaningful and fulfilling.

[saffronstuffie]

as someone who has autism, i constantly deal with the struggle with being infantilized, not only from my peers but from my family as well. i'm glad people understand how much of an issue it is :(

[isabellafogal]

As an autistic girl, I am thankful for you covering this topic

[sonbulan]

In my experience with autism, perhaps the best way to put it is:

‘I want to be hugged, but I’m terrified of being touched.’

[soshitoku]

I am a person with autism(l1) and it should be acknowledged even if it's the mildest stage, it still should be acknowledged and teached.

[chynabarbieeeeee]

As a person born with autism, I pretty much appreciate you for making videos like this educating others and highlighting the differences we face from others. Thank you psych2go

[mikaelahobart]

As an autistic, I have one small complaint: the “cognitive empathy deficit” theory is a bit outdated. It would be nice if you did a video talking about The Double Empathy Problem. Even if they haven't heard of the official name, it's a pretty well-known phenomenon within the autistic community. Unfortunately, only recently have *ANY* researchers started listening to our self-reported experiences and started doing research into the idea that autistics actually don't have any more communication/empathy problems than non-autistics, the situation is more like one person only speaking Japanese and the other person only speaking Swedish. The Japanese person can understand other Japanese people fine, and the Swedish person can understand other Swedish people fine, but they're both equally incapable of understanding each other.

Everything else was lovely. 💛

[Fenyxclips]

Being autistic, I've grown very curious about what autism is and how to live with it. Isn't easy when a parent doesn't seem to understand that being autistic doesn't mean living will be impossible when alone. I've isolated myself a lot due to a lot (bullying and constant moving next to never being told important information while still being treated like a child now and again) to grow independent of myself. Got a younger sister who is likely to be autistic and I do look to understand how it works and gives personality.

[Lianna_Is_Me]

0:18 1.empathize
1:20 2. behavior
2:22 3. freind
3:15 4. Intamacy
4:19 5. life trajectory


Hope this helped!!
I actually am a high functioning asperger girl and I'm 14!
Aspergers is kinda lile autism but on a less effective way I think!

I also have adhd too!
The freind one kinda hit close to home since i do tend to get bullied alot as a child and now and finding freinds and relationships can be hard and I've been developing some mental illnesses from the trauma. Also change is hard as well, sure we/I may not do what asperger people do but those points she mentioned are accurate,

For empathy i kinda do both in mind and emotion empathy it's not really hard for me to differ emotions or feel them but that's ok!
(I still hate loud noises tho)
Sorry if I'm rambling on about this but it's just my personal opinion and expirence!



Hope you enjoy!!!
:>

[innerpeaceforall]

My son is autistic. Brilliant creative intelligent and sensitive kid.. very hard on himself 😢

[rayati]

As an autistic person, I literally had tears in my eyes during this video. I have SO MUCH TROUBLE maintaining friendships outside the Internet, and given that I'm someone who longs for intimacy, it feels like a bit of a weight. I also recently came of age, and I'm afraid of adulting.

[radojkabarycki]

My son is Aspergers, which was on the autism spectrum until recently. My son is very empathic. He is very sensitive to high sounds and crowds. He is only 13 and still trying to find good friends. He has been bullied for behaving differently. He says things very as mater of fact, which sometimes doesn’t go well.

[PatchedLightning]

As someone with Autism and wants to go into the Special Education field, it brings me an unbelievable amount of joy to have you guys tackle Autism in your videos. My transition into adulthood has lead me to a fascination of the inner workings of Autism and your videos in the past has helped me through times of depressive episodes among other hardships. Thank you for helping spread mental health awareness and knowledge and helping to acknowledge Autism in your videos.

Also I love the animation!

[keyaunna.]

i’m autistic. my experience with making friends is rare. i only ever make friends if they’re into my special interests. it’s really hard for me to maintain friendships because i cling to people in fear of abandonment. therefore, when i get friends, i usually lose them.

however i do have a partner!! my partner always learns about my autism and is always willing to help me with my anxiety and other issues. sensory issues are also a very big thing in my life, and he’s always willing to help me with overwhelm. i love him very much :)

[Iron_Minecart_]

I have Autism myself, by the time I was born, and I was very grateful that my mom raised me well.

When my mom told me to watch the series called “The Good Doctor”, that’s where I discovered that I had Autism, by the time when I was 14 (I’m 15 btw).

Keep up the great work 👍

[indigobaby]

My daughter is seven years old and diagnosed with autism. The other day she told I wasn't being a good friend because I told her she couldn't have a tattoo or a boyfriend. 🤦🏿‍♀️

[ragadoesstuff]

My mom is actually a special Ed teacher and her students are really nice!

[crossoverqueen]

As someone's who's on the autism spectrum, these types of videos always fascinate me because it gives me a chance to see what other people think about the disorder and the people affected by it. I don't interact with other people much, so I don't remember if I've had any experiences with other people that were negative because I have autism, but I was bullied in school and my now ex-stepfather tried to "discipline" the autism out of me, which unfortunately has lead to trauma, but I'm in therapy to make it better. But basically what I'm trying to say is that I don't have any personal point of reference for people like me and how they're viewed besides what I've learned about it and the inferences I've made. Unfortunately not a lot of those inferences were positive and a lot of them were about something was *wrong* with me, and I'm still struggling with that one. But I do believe that it's not an entire curse. There are definitely benefits to this! And those of us who are blessed enough to have had a safe, supportive, and nurturing environment for most of their life are capable of doing amazing things! As stated in the first part of this video, our ability to notice details and hyperfixate and look at the world in a not so normal point of view, while they have their downsides, do have their positive sides. Like becoming fascinated with a certain book series and being able to learn everything you can about it, or like me, having a fascination with insects and arachnids (and animals in general) for as long as I can remember has lead me to wanting to become an entomologist, but my fascination with fantasy worlds and stuff has lead me to art and writing, though I currently don't post anything because I don't have much figured out with plot and character interactions. I need to figure out how to do that in a way that could lead me to being like, the next Tolkien hopefully. Though that is quite the feat. Sorry for the tangent.

[justalpha]

Growing up on the spectrum has been extremely difficult for me, but I've used my rough, painful experiences to try and help other people who desperately need it.

[FrancescaMulvey]

As an autistic person who struggled throughout my teen years in high school (I wasn't diagnosed until I was 19) I relate so much to number 3