In My Language: The Video That Made Scientists Rethink What They Think They Know About Autism

1. Frank
   March 2nd, 2008 at 6:57 am

   I am deeply moved by this video. Thanks for the link.

2. Paul22
   March 2nd, 2008 at 8:04 am

   Oh come on, even the dog on the couch is thinking WTF?

3. Ali S.
   March 2nd, 2008 at 8:50 am

   Ah, now this is interesting. Imagine how beneficial it would be to institute a program where Autistic children can be able to describe their feelings and their actions by computer as a medium.

4. hm
   March 2nd, 2008 at 11:28 am

   Perception should not be confused with communication.

   Likewise, behavior should not be confused with interaction.

   When in Rome...

5. bean
   March 2nd, 2008 at 12:23 pm

   "And you find yourself thinking: She might have a point."

   Really, no. There's a boy named Dan in England that handled this much better, without accusing the rest of the world for destroying his life.

6. L
   March 2nd, 2008 at 12:58 pm

   I get annoyed whenever I hear about people like this. They're so focused on forcing people to accept them that they don't accept that there are autistic people who DON'T want to be autistic and who DO feel trapped. Look at another recent case, that of Carly, a teenager who also uses a computer (unassisted) to communicate.

   http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/print/CTVNews/20080217/favaro_ca rly_080217/20080217/?hub=Health&subhub=PrintStory

   She just wants to be normal. But if you are to believe people like Amanda Baggs, autistic people should be happy to be autistic. Sorry, but I just don't buy that.

   I've come across quite a few people with this attitude, and there seems to be this fear that, if autism was cured tomorrow, they would suddenly become dumber or less talented. They can't seem to imagine that they might be just as intelligent or talented... but that they would also be able to take care of themselves without having to rely on people to accomplish basic daily care tasks.

7. otterly
   March 2nd, 2008 at 1:31 pm

   If you leave autistic people to thier own devices this is what you get. In my expirience they must be coaxed out of these behaviours and encouraged to communicate and live a full life. They can do it! but it takes allot of work. Autisic children in other countries with more strict parents do much better and don't live in thier own worlds like this young lady. When i see someone like that I feel like no one cared enough to help her and encourage her to communicate with the rest of the world. Accpeting these behaviors and vices is only enabling thier dissability.

8. Steohawk
   March 2nd, 2008 at 4:38 pm

   It's amazing that one person could make scientists re-think their views about other people. Perhaps if everybody in the world posted a YouTube video of their own routines, scientists would realize that people's behaviors can't be squashed into over-arching profiles, unless they're willing to have 6 billion of them.

9. Athon
   March 2nd, 2008 at 5:05 pm

   Autism is a spectrum of behaviours, so to insinuate is 'a condition' is misleading in the least. Levels of communication, interaction and socialisation vary considerably, going so far for many to associate a number of conditions under the umbrella term 'ASD' (autism spectrum disorder). Studies in recent decades have seen to this spectrum being formed, which led to changes in who might be described as autistic. This meant more people were diagnosed ASD, prompting many to think there was an epidemic.

   Recent 'therapies' have included assisted communication techniques using computers, which are dubious and unsupported by any evidence. Always be skeptical when people suggest that scientists (whoever they might be) are amazed by something like this.

   Athon

10. Ratz
    March 2nd, 2008 at 5:06 pm

    I had a search look but not exhaustive in any way, but is there proof that she was really the one being so eloquent?

11. just a guy
    March 2nd, 2008 at 6:38 pm

    The problem with non-autistic people learning her 'language' is that he language doesn't communicate. If you play with water, nom on some object, and hum, she, an autistic person will not know you are saying "I think post-modern cinematagrophy is a little self-aggrandizing"
    Her 'language' is her interacting with her environment, yes. But thats not a language. It's really indulgence in sensation.
    A language has to be able to be understood by someone other than yourself.

    That being said, i do believe she's the one speaking. What is amazing to me is how complex thoughts austics can have, yet they have such a hard time expressing it. I think it's wonderful that with technology, they can now.

    Also, on a completely different note.... the voice software she uses reminds me a little bit of GlaDOS form portal. I wonder where she got it!

12. hmm
    March 2nd, 2008 at 11:23 pm

    Sorry I'm not buying into the notion that autism is simply a different way of thinking and interacting with the enviornment and should be treated as normal.

    Drop this chick off in an African savannah, and she'd be rocking back and forth fascinated with the sound of grass and the feel of dirt, rather than thinking about the possibility of being a lions breakfast.

    She may be able to communicate with modern technology, but she's flawed in the eyes of Darwin.

13. DCer
    March 3rd, 2008 at 1:42 am

    I heard some great interviews with people on the autistic spectrum on NPR. Not one single person with Aspergers tried to suggest that they were really happy that they thought differently. One woman hinted that she basically went into an alley with a rapist before someone shouted to her that it wasn't safe- she had such poor judgment of people that she literally needed friends with her in bars.

    I work with a person with Downs Syndrome and he's a great guy and we do have to accept him, but in the same way the reason he has a good job is that he knows that certain behavior he wants to do is unacceptable- like hugging. So we see him sometimes get really excited and lunge and stop himself from hugging people and straighten his tie and act more like the rest of society.

    If she wants to be accepted, she must recognize that acceptance comes with communication. By the 1970s people knew that autism was not a sign of mental retardation, so throughout my entire adult life this has been public knowledge. I don't know people who think automatically than an autistic person isn't intelligent, I think the average person believes that the autistic person is incomprehensible. I'm glad she has accepted that the only way for people to understand autism is to speak our language, to become comprehensible. If she was more educated then she'd know that this battle to communicate minority interests to the vast majority is a longterm issue that everyone deals with. So since communication is the key issue, there is no one who can change but her.

14. Suzie
    March 3rd, 2008 at 6:59 pm

    Ummm....
    I have seen her on TV before and thought- wow, this is very cool to be able to hear her communicate, and it also validated my beleif that people with autisim are not necisarrily low IQ.

    However look into it a little more. There are a lot of people (autistic included) saying she is actually faking autisim- and since it is diagnosed behaviorally and not chemically- this is not a hard sell.
    What is the evidence- her own words. She has diagnosed herself with everything from OCD, PTSD, Schizophrenia, and now autism. There are some damning comments about her choosing to become non-verbal, and basically choosing "autism".

    I'm not sure what I beleive. I still like her message though.

15. Persephone
    March 3rd, 2008 at 8:03 pm

    Sure, why not be autistic? Autistics are regularly killed by their parents and caregivers, subjected to hideous, unfounded treatments and abused by others for their differences. I would leap at the chance to live that way.

    Actually, with better studies, neurologists are starting to do diagnoses. There are definite structural differences in the brain and even the skull. The sooner diagnosis and treatment is removed from psychologists and psychiatrists to neurologists the better is will be for these people.

    And has been noted above, ASD is a "spectrum" disorder. There is a huge range, from someone with fairly mild Asperger's, who passes fairly easily, to people like Amanda, who cannot function.

    One of the main differences between "neurotypicals" and people on the spectrum is that austistics do not have as many mirror cells in the brain. Mirror cells are the cells that cause people to copy other people's behavior. This is what causes the difficulty with social skills, as austistics do not automatically copy the behavior of others, but have to learn social skills, just as they learn to read or do math. It takes them longer, and sometimes the difficulty of it is beyond the those on the far end of the spectrum. However, it also keeps them from devolving into mob behaviors common among neurotypicals, as they don't automatically start doing what everyone else is doing.

    Another issue is there seem to be additional difficulties with sounds and lights, that most people are comfortable with, being too loud or bright for them, or causing reactions akin to synesthesia.

    Some autistics would like to be normal. Some would not. Some enjoy the differences, and it does have its gifts. Most technical and scientific development would not have occurred without people on the spectrum. It can cause an ability to focus that allows someone to spend years on a problem. It also allows them to approach a problem from a completely different direction.

    I don't know Amanda. She has met with medical doctors from different news programs who seem to accept the diagnosis. However, she is not the only non-speaking autistic who is blogging. She is the one who is appearing on these news programs. Check out YouTube. There are plenty of other videos there by other autistics.

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