CSULB - 坦普爾-葛蘭汀 - 關注自閉症和阿斯伯格綜合症 (CSULB - Temple Grandin - Focus on Autism and Asperger's Syndrome)

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>> PLEASE JOIN ME IN WELCOMING DR. TEMPLE GRANDIN.
[ APPLAUSE ]
>> WELL IT'S GOOD TO BE HERE TODAY.
ONCE I PRESS THIS BUTTON AND MY SLIDES COME ON.
IF THEY WORK, THAT'S GOOD.
ONE OF THE THINGS CAN'T EMPHASIZE ENOUGH
WITH THE YOUNG AUTISTIC CHILDREN IS EARLY
EDUCATIONAL INTERVENTION.
THAT'S JUST ABSOLUTELY SUPER IMPORTANT.
I WAS 60 JUST THIS SUMMER AND BY THE TIME I WAS TWO
AND A HALF YEARS OLD, I WAS IN A VERY GOOD PROGRAM.
I'M-- MOTHER TOOK ME INTO A, YOU KNOW, THE CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL
IN BOSTON AND A DOCTOR NAMED BRONSON CROTHERS REFERRED HER
TO A SPEECH-- TO SPEECH THERAPIST THAT WORKED
OUT OF THEIR HOME AND THEY WERE JUST THOSE A LITTLE EXPERIENCED
TEACHERS THAT KNEW HOW TO WORK WITH KIDS.
AND THEN MY MOTHER HIRED A NANNY WHO SPENT HOURS AND HOURS
AND HOURS DOING TURN TAKING GAMES WITH ME AND MY SISTER.
WE'VE GOT TO BE TEACHING THESE KIDS TURN TAKING.
SEE ONE OF THE THINGS ABOUT BEING A CHILD
IN THE '50S IS IT TURNED--
EVERYTHING YOU DID WITH ANOTHER KID
THAT WAS FUN INVOLVED TURN TAKING.
TURN TAKING IS REALLY IMPORTANT.
WE GOT TO TEACH THAT REALLY, REALLY EARLY.
AS A TEACHER, I'M KIND OF GRABBING THE KID'S CHIN.
MY TEACHER DID THAT WITH ME.
SHE SAID, COME ON, JUST PAY ATTENTION.
SOME AUTISTIC KIDS YOU CAN KIND OF PULL THEM OUT OF IT
BUT THERE'S OTHERS WHERE IF YOU DO THIS, YOU'RE GOING
TO DRIVE THEM INTO SENSORY OVERLOAD.
AND ONE OF THE BIGGEST MOST NEGLECTED AREAS IS THE
SENSORY PROBLEMS.
WHEN A LOUD-- SCHOOL BELL WENT OFF, IT HURT MY EARS.
THIS IS A PICTURE OF A YOUNG MAN SENT TO ME IT'S ACTUALLY
FROM A BOOK CALLED LITTLE RAINMAN.
IT'S-- A YOUNG AUTISTIC BOY DREW THIS
AND SHOWING HOW LOUD SOUNDS HURT HIS EARS.
NOW THE THING IS, IS THESE SENSORY PROBLEMS ARE
VERY VARIABLE.
ONE KID MIGHT LIKE THE SOUND OF RUNNING WATER,
ANOTHER KID IS GOING TO--
WILL GET AWAY FROM THE SOUND OF RUNNING WATER.
NOW, HIGH-PITCHED INTERMITTENT SOUNDS,
THINGS LIKE SMOKE ALARMS, THOSE TEND TO BE THE WORST THINGS
BUT THESE ARE REALLY REAL PROBLEMS.
YOU KNOW, IF YOU HAVE A CHILD AND YOU TAKE THEM
IN AT A BIG SUPERMARKET OR A WALMART OR SOME PLACE LIKE THAT,
HE JUST HAS A MELTDOWN AND START SCREAMING,
THAT IS SENSORY OVERLOAD.
SO YOU KIND OF WANT TO FIGURE OUT, YOU KNOW,
IF YOUR CHILD GOT A LOT OF SENSORY PROBLEMS, WHAT HAPPENS
AT WALMART OR THE BIG SUPERMARKETS
OR THE SHOPPING MALL.
AND IF EVERY ONE OF THOSE TRIPS ARE SCREAMING FIT YOU'VE GOT
REALLY BIG SENSORY PROBLEMS
BECAUSE SOME KIDS CAN SEE THE FLUORESCENT LIGHTS FLICKER ON
AND OFF LIKE BEING IN A DISCOTHEQUE.
IT JUST DRIVES THEM CRAZY.
OR THEY GO DOWN THE DETERGENT AISLE AND THEY JUST WANT TO GAG
BECAUSE IT'S JUST TOO MUCH SMELLS.
TOO MUCH IS OVERWHELMING STIMULATION.
NOW THE THING IS, ONE OF THE THINGS THEY WANT
TO TEST ME BEFORE IS TO MAKE SURE THAT I WASN'T DEAF.
SO I GOT A HEARING TEST AND I WASN'T DEAF.
BUT THE PROBLEM IS AUDITORY THRESHOLD TELLS YOU NOTHING
ABOUT AUDITORY DETAIL.
AUDITORY DETAIL IS THE ABILITY TO HEAR HARD CONSONANT SOUNDS.
LIKE IF I SAID CAT OR WAS IT RAT OR BAT, YOU KNOW,
DIFFERENTIATING BETWEEN CAT, RAT AND BAT,
AND MY SPEECH TEACHER WOULD ENUNCIATE THOSE SOUNDS.
SHE'LL HOLD UP A CUP AND SAY, CUP.
IN FACT, SHE USED A LOT OF KIND OF ABA TYPE OF THINGS.
AND THE THING THAT'S MOST IMPORTANT THAT I'M GOING
TO BE ADAMANT ABOUT IS THAT REAL LITTLE KIDS THE TWO,
THREE AND FOUR YEAR OLDS, THEY NEED 20 HOURS OF ONE-TO-ONE
WITH A REALLY GREAT TEACHER.
YOU KNOW, AND WHO THAT GOOD TEACHER IS?
THAT'S THE MOST IMPORTANT THING.
NOW, THIS IS WORK DONE BY AMI KLIN AND HE HAD WITH ASPERGERS
AND PEOPLE WITH, YOU KNOW,
HIGH-FUNCTIONING AUTISM WATCH WHO'S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF?
WELL, I HAVE TO SAY THAT'S A BORING SOCIAL MOVIE
AND I WOULDN'T BE THAT INTERESTED IN.
I DON'T EVEN THINK I COULD KEEP THE HEADPHONES ON A PLANE,
YOU KNOW, FOR THIS ONE.
AND LOOK AT HOW MANY TIMES A NORMAL PERSON LOOKS AT THE EYES.
I DIDN'T EVEN KNOW THAT PEOPLE HAD ALL THESE SECRET EYE SIGNALS
UNTIL I READ A BOOK ABOUT IT WHEN I WAS 50 YEARS OLD.
BUT THE OTHER THING IS MOST PEOPLE EXPLAIN THIS PICTURE JUST
FROM A SOCIAL STANDPOINT.
THERE'S ALSO A BIG PROBLEM WITH ATTENTION SHIFTING.
LOOK AT HOW MANY TIMES THE NORMAL PERSON LOOKS BACK
AND FORTH, HOW QUICKLY THEY CAN SHIFT ATTENTION BACK
AND FORTH COMPARED TO THE RED LINE
WHICH IS THE AUTISTIC PERSON.
AND THE AUTISTIC PERSON IS LOOKING AT THE MOUTH
BECAUSE YOU GOT TO REMEMBER,
THEY DO NOT HEAR AUDITORY DETAIL VERY WELL.
SOME OF THESE KIDS ARE LIKE A REALLY BAD CELLPHONE CONNECTION
AND WHEN THEY GET TIRED, IT'S GOING TO GET WORSE.
YOU KNOW, HOW YOU YELL ON THE PHONE, YOU'RE GOING, OH,
IT'S BREAKING UP, IT'S BREAKING UP.
THAT'S THE WAY SOME OF THESE KIDS' HEARING IS.
YOU KNOW, IT'S LIKE-- AND IT'S GOING TO VARY AS TO HOW MUCH
OF THE SIGNAL GET THROUGH.
ONE OF THE PLACES WHERE THERE NEEDS TO BE A LOT
OF RESEARCH DONE IS IN THE SENSORY PROBLEMS.
I'M KIND OF REALLY [INAUDIBLE] SICK OF ALL THE THEORY
OF MIND RESEARCH BECAUSE THESE SENSORY PROBLEMS CAN BE
SO DEBILITATING.
HOW CAN YOU SOCIALIZE
IF YOU CAN'T EVEN STAND BEING IN A RESTAURANT.
YOU CAN STAND BEING AT A SORTING--
SPORTING EVENT OR OTHER PLACES,
A NOISY RESTAURANT, PLACES LIKE THAT.
NOW, SOME PEOPLE HAVE VISUAL PROBLEMS.
I DIDN'T HAVE THEM.
YOU KNOW, WHERE THE IMAGE WILL BREAK UP LIKE A MOSAIC.
DONNA WILLIAMS DESCRIBED THIS IN SOME OF HER BOOKS.
AND OFTENTIMES PEOPLE WILL HAVE THESE PROBLEMS--
THEY'LL HAVE PROBLEMS WITH DEPTH PERCEPTION.
OK. HOW CAN YOU TELL THE KID'S GOT VISUAL PROCESSING PROBLEMS?
OBVIOUSLY, IF HE'S GOT SOUND SENSITIVITY,
HE'S GOING TO COVER HIS EARS.
THEY DO A LOT OF FLICKING AROUND THE EYES.
THAT'S A TIP-OFF.
THEY'LL TEND TO TILT THEIR HEAD BECAUSE THEY CAN SEE BETTER
IF THEY LOOK OUT THE CORNER OF THEIR EYE.
OFTENTIMES, THEY HATE ESCALATORS BECAUSE THEY CAN'T TELL
WHEN TO GET ON AND OFF THE ESCALATOR.
FLUORESCENT LIGHTS CAN BE A BIG PROBLEM.
IN FACT, WHEN THEY LOOK AT THINGS, THEY MAY HAVE
TO MAKE ACCOMMODATIONS FOR IN COLLEGE GETTING AWAY
FROM FLUORESCENT LIGHTS IS PROBABLY BIG NUMBER ONE.
PROBLEMS WITH CATCHING A BALL AND YOU GO IN
AND YOU DO EYE EXAMS AND THEY'RE GOING TO BE NORMAL.
THEIR PROBLEM IS INSIDE THE BRAIN.
DON'T GET HUNG UP ON DIAGNOSTIC CATEGORIES.
THESE DIAGNOSTIC CATEGORIES ARE NOT PRECISE.
THEY ARE LABELS, JUST LIKE PROFILING A HIJACKER.
IT'S ONLY SORT OF ACCURATE.
IT'S-- AND I'M SAYING THIS REALLY, REALLY SERIOUSLY.
IT'S NOT ACCURATE LIKE TUBERCULOSIS IS ACCURATE.
I MEAN WHAT OTHER KINDS OF SYNDROMES DO PEOPLE SIT
AROUND A HOTEL ROOM AND DECIDE HAVE DIAGNOSING.
I MEAN, THAT'S THE SAME WAY BUILDING CODES ARE FIGURED
OUT AND, YOU KNOW, ENGINEERS SIT AROUND HOTEL CONFERENCE ROOMS
AND DECIDE, YOU KNOW, HOW TO CHANGE BUILDING CODE.
THEY'VE NOT DONE THAT IN ANIMAL WELFARE CODES.
NOW THE THING IS IF THE PROFILE IS USED CORRECTLY,
THERE'S A HIGH CORRELATION WITH BRAIN SCAN DATA.
BUT I FIND ONCE YOU GET OUT OF THE WAY
FROM THE BIG MEDICAL CENTERS, PROFILES ARE NOT USED CORRECTLY.
OK. WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ASPERGER AND AUTISM?
WELL RIGHT NOW, UNTIL THEY CHANGE IT, REAL SIMPLE.
AUTISM HAS TO BE ONSET BEFORE AGE 3.
THERE'S OBVIOUS SPEECH DELAY ALONG
WITH THE OTHER AUTISTIC SYMPTOMS.
ASPERGER'S, THERE'S NO OBVIOUS SPEECH DELAY.
SO TO PUT IT VERY, VERY SIMPLY, WHEN THE KID'S 3,
NOBODY'S RUNNING OFF TO THE DOCTOR.
SO WHAT'S PDD?
IT'S EARLY ONSET BUT NOT QUITE ENOUGH SYMPTOMS
TO CALL IT AUTISM.
NOW, A LOT OF THESE SENSORY PROBLEMS I'VE BEEN
TALKING ABOUT.
DYSLEXICS CAN HAVE THEM.
ADHD CAN HAVE THEM.
LOTS AND LOTS AND LOTS OF THE DIFFERENT LABELS CAN HAVE THEM.
AND I CAN TELL YOU, I CAN'T WAIT
UNTIL THEY CAN GET HIGH SPEED BRAIN SCANNING
AND THAT COULD BE USED TO DIAGNOSE THE BRAIN SYSTEMS
WHERE WE HAVE PROBLEMS.
NOW SOME KIDS REALLY GOOD TO READ SOME AUTISTIC KIDS,
NOT EVERYBODY THESE SENSORY THINGS ARE VERY, VERY VARIABLE.
I DIDN'T HAVE THESE VISUAL PROBLEMS.
THEY GO TO READ WHITE-- THE WHITE PAPER WITH BLACK PRINT
ON IT AND THE WRITING WILL KIND OF JIGGLE ON THE PAGE
BECAUSE THERE'S PROBLEMS WITH THE CIRCUITS OF PROCESS MOTION
IN THE BRAIN AND THEY'RE SEEING MOTION
WHEN THEY SHOULDN'T BE SEEING MOTION.
OK. HERE ARE SOME SIMPLE, SIMPLE THINGS YOU CAN DO
FOR VISUAL PROCESSING PROBLEMS, THINGS YOU CAN DO YOURSELF.
WHY DON'T YOU GET AN INCANDESCENT LAMP
OR AN OLD-FASHIONED ENERGY WASTER BULB,
PUT IT NEXT TO THE KID'S DESK.
THOSE TWIRLY KIND OF FLUORESCENT LIGHT BULBS,
SOME OF THOSE ARE TERRIBLE.
I NORMALLY DO NOT SEE FLICKER ON FLUORESCENT LIGHTS BUT I STAYED
AT A HOTEL WHERE I SAW FLICKER ON A LAMP THAT HAD THOSE KIND
OF BULBS AND I COULD NOT READ WITH IT.
BLOCK FLUORESCENT LIGHTS WITH A HAT, SIT OVER BY THE WINDOW.
NOW LAPTOP COMPUTER IS THE ONLY COMPUTER
THAT ABSOLUTELY DOESN'T FLICKER.
I KNOW A LOT OF PEOPLE WHERE A LAPTOP JUST SAVED THEM.
THE TVS FLICKER, THE TV TAGS FLICKER
AND THE BIG DESKTOP PANELS, A LOT OF THOSE FLICKER
BECAUSE THERE'S A FLUORESCENT LIGHT INSIDE IT.
ONLY SCREEN THAT DOESN'T FLICKER ARE REAL SKINNY ONE,
THEY'RE SO SKINNY LIKE ON A LAPTOP,
YOU CAN'T GET A FLUORESCENT LIGHT IN THERE.
TRY PUTTING A WORK ON GRAY, TAN,
OR PASTEL PAPER TO REDUCE CONTRAST.
SOME PEOPLE ARE REALLY HELPED WITH THE IRLEN COLORED LENSES
WHERE YOU TRY ON DIFFERENT COLORED GLASSES
UNTIL YOU FIND THE SHADE WHERE IT WORKS.
OK. I GET OUT IN THE LOW INCOME AREAS, I GO, OK, PEOPLE,
LET'S JUST GO DOWN TO WALMART AND WE'RE GOING TO TRY ON ALL
OF THE PALE COLORED SUNGLASSES.
AND THEN I TALKED TO ONE MOM AND HER KID COULDN'T TOLERATE--
HER 10-YEAR-OLD COULDN'T TOLERATE FIVE MINUTES
OF WALMART.
AND THEY TRIED ON SOME LITTLE PINK CHILDREN'S GLASSES
AND SHE CAN DO AN HOUR OF SHOPPING NOW
THAT SHE WAS NOT ABLE TO DO BEFORE.
BALANCING GAMES, YOU KNOW, A LOT OF THE OT THINGS,
A LOT OF THINGS THE OTS DO WITH PRESSURE AND SWINGING
AND BALANCING LIKE SITTING ON A BALL.
SOMEONE'S HELP TO STABILIZE PROCESSING,
THEY MAKE THAT BAD CELLPHONE CONNECTION WORK BETTER.
IF I'VE TAKEN THAT PHONE OVER BY THE--
GET IT RIGHT UP AGAINST THE WINDOW,
MAYBE IT'LL WORK ON THIS BUILDING.
AND THEN SOME PEOPLE CAN BE HELPED WITH PRISM GLASSES
BUT THOSE HAVE TO BE DONE BY A PROFESSIONAL.
BUT THE OTHER THINGS ON HERE ARE JUST SIMPLE THINGS YOU CAN TRY.
I HAD A DYSLEXIC STUDENT THAT WOULD HAVE FLUNKED OUT OF SCHOOL
WITHOUT IRLEN LENSES AND A LAPTOP COMPUTER.
NOW, THE PROBLEM WITH THAT IS AUTISM IS VERY, VERY VARIABLE.
SO IF YOU'VE GOT 20 PEOPLE WITH AUTISM,
IRLEN LENSES MAY ONLY WORK ON TWO OF THEM
BUT THEY REALLY WORK ON THOSE TWO.
THEY'RE NOT GOING TO DO ANYTHING FOR ME, I DON'T NEED THEM.
SCIENTISTS HAVE LEARNED A LOT ABOUT THE BRAIN.
I GET REALLY FED UP WHEN PEOPLE SAY, WELL,
THEY DON'T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT IT, THAT'S A LOT OF RUBBISH.
ACTUALLY SCIENTISTS KNOW A WHOLE LOT ABOUT THE BRAIN.
IT'S A VERY STRONG GENETIC BASIS IN AUTISM.
THE EMOTION CIRCUITS ARE ABNORMAL
AND IMMATURELY DEVELOPED.
ONE OF THE BIG THINGS ABOUT THE AUTISTIC BRAIN IS THESE PROBLEMS
WITH THE INTERCONNECTEDNESS
BETWEEN DIFFERENT BRAIN DEPARTMENTS.
I LIKE TO VISUALIZE THE BRAIN
AS THIS GREAT BIG CORPORATE OFFICE TOWER.
AND UP AT THE TOP, YOU GOT THE CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
AND THEN YOU GOT THE, YOU KNOW, THE MATH DEPARTMENT
AND YOU GOT THE ADVERTISING DEPARTMENT
WITH THE GRAPHIC DESIGNERS.
YOU'VE GOT SALES DEPARTMENT,
ALL THE DIFFERENT DEPARTMENTS OPERATIONS.
AND IN THE NORMAL BUILDING, YOU GOT ALL KINDS OF INTERNET
AND EMAIL CONNECTIONS AND PHONE CONNECTIONS
THAT WIRE TOGETHER ALL THE DIFFERENT DEPARTMENTS.
NOW, ON AUTISM WHAT HAPPENS IS,
AS THE CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER WE'LL JUST GIVE THEM ONE DIAL
UP, THAT'S ALL HE GETS.
BUT THEN, MAYBE OVER IN THE GRAPHIC DESIGN DEPARTMENT,
THEY GET A HUNDRED INTERNET CONNECTIONS.
IN OTHER WORDS, SOME DEPARTMENTS GET EXTRA WIRING, OTHER--
HUMAN RESOURCES, THE SOCIAL STAFF, SALES,
WE DON'T GIVE THE-- WE DON'T EVEN GIVE THEM PHONES.
[ LAUGHTER ]
YOU KNOW, BECAUSE WE'RE MORE INTERESTED IN WIRING
UP THE GEEK STUFF, YOU KNOW, LIKE THE MATH DEPARTMENT
AND THE-- AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
NOW, THE BRAIN LET ME TELL YOU AN INTERESTING THING
ABOUT THE BRAIN.
YOU HAVE GRAY MATTER AND YOU HAVE WHITE MATTER.
GRAY MATTER IS THE BRAIN'S PROCESSORS.
WHITE MATTER IS THE INTERCONNECTIONS
BETWEEN THE OFFICES
OF THE DIFFERENT DEPARTMENTS OF THE BRAIN.
HALF OF THE BRAIN IS WHITE MATTER.
HALF OF THE BRAIN IS INTERCONNECTING CIRCUITS.
ANOTHER INTERESTING THING THAT'S BEEN LEARNED BY DR. CASANOVA
AT THE UNIVERSITY IN KNOXVILLE IS HE LOOKS
AT THESE THINGS CALLED MINICOLUMNS,
THEY'RE THE BRAIN'S PRIMARY PROCESSOR UNITS.
AND HE FOUND THAT PEOPLE
ON THE SPECTRUM HAVE MORE PROCESSORS PER SQUARE INCH.
YOU KNOW, BUT THERE'S A PRICE YOU PAY FOR THAT.
THOSE LITTLE, TEENY PROCESSORS AREN'T POWERFUL ENOUGH TO SEND
OUT BIG TRUNK LINES OUT THE DIFFERENT DEPARTMENTS
OF THE BRAIN.
WE LEAVE THE CEO WITHOUT VERY MUCH WIRING, YOU KNOW,
FROM THE FRONTAL CORTEX.
AND NORMAL PEOPLE HAVE LARGER CIRCUITS WITH BIG TRUNK LINES.
SO THERE'S KIND OF TWO WAYS YOU CAN MAKE A BRAIN,
YOU CAN MAKE A REALLY SOCIAL, LEAVE OUT THE DETAIL,
LOT OF FAST CONNECTIONS OR MAKE IT REALLY GO FOR DETAIL
BUT GOING TO BE POOR ON THE LONG DISTANCE CONNECTIONS
WITH THE LOCAL CONNECTIONS.
YOU KNOW, SORT OF IMAGINE THE OFFICE BUILDING
WHERE DOWN THE MATH DEPARTMENT, WE GOT CABLES THIS BIG
OVER THE CUBICLE WALLS.
AND THE CUBICLE WALLS ARE FALLING
DOWN BECAUSE THEY GOT GIGANTIC CABLES HOOKING
UP ALL THESE COMPUTERS THEY BROUGHT IN.
THAT'S THE-- THAT WOULD BE THE SAVANT POINT.
NOW, YOU KNOW, THESE ARE BEHAVIOR PROBLEMS
THAT ARE CAUSED BY THE AUTISM OR THE ASPERGER'S.
THESE ARE MAINLY SENSORY THINGS SCREAMING
WHEN THE FIRE ALARM GOES OFF, TANTRUMS IN A SUPERMARKET.
I COULDN'T TOLERATE SCRATCHY CLOTHES.
THERE'S NO WAY YOU'RE GETTING WOOL AGAINST MY SKIN.
I JUST CAN'T TOLERATE IT.
SOME KIDS HAVE POOR HANDWRITING.
THERE'S A GOOD REASON WHY KEYBOARDS WERE INVENTED
AND I'M A BIG BELIEVER IN INTRODUCING THEM EARLY.
AND THEN, A PROBLEM
WITH FLUORESCENT LIGHTS THESE ARE THINGS WE'RE GOING
TO HAVE TO ACCOMMODATE.
THESE ARE THE STUFF WE DO NOT HAVE TO ACCOMMODATE
AND I THINK WE'RE GETTING INTO KIND
OF A GENERATIONAL DIFFERENCE HERE.
BECAUSE LET ME TELL YOU, TABLE MANNERS, POUND THAT IN.
SAYING PLEASE AND THANK YOU, POUND THAT IN.
SHAKING HANDS WITH PEOPLE, POUND THAT IN.
YES, YOU DO HAVE TO SIT THROUGH CHURCH AND IF YOU DON'T LIKE IT,
YOU GOT TO SIT THROUGH IT.
I WASN'T ALLOWED TO STIM AT THE TABLE.
I WAS ALLOWED TO STIM DURING REST PERIOD AFTER LUNCH.
I WAS GIVEN-- SOMETIMES, I COULD STIM BUT CHURCH
AND DINNER WERE TWO PLACES WHERE I WASN'T ALLOWED.
YOU KNOW, AND I THINK THERE'S SORT OF, YOU KNOW,
MORE STRICT UPBRINGING I HAD WAS REALLY HELPFUL.
BECAUSE I KNOW-- SEE PEOPLE ALL THE TIME, 40, 50,
60-YEAR-OLD ASPERGER'S ALL OVER THE PLACE KEPT GOOD JOBS
FOR YEARS AND YEARS AND YEARS.
AND I THINK THAT MORE RIGID UPBRINGING WAS REALLY HELPFUL.
THERE WAS ABSOLUTE CONSISTENT DISCIPLINE
BETWEEN HOME AND SCHOOL.
THERE WAS NO WAY I COULD PLAY THE TEACHER AGAINST MOM,
YOU KNOW, AND VICE VERSA.
IF I HAD A BAD DAY AT SCHOOL,
THEY TOOK AWAY HOWDY DOODY SHOW FOR ONE NIGHT.
SLOPPINESS, YOU KNOW, I'VE SEEN AUTISTIC KIDS NOW, YOU KNOW
AND ASPERGER KIDS, THEY GO ON A STORE
AND TAKE STUFF OFF THE SHELF AND THROW IT ON THE FLOOR.
I WASN'T ALLOWED TO DO THAT.
I WAS TAUGHT WHEN I WAS FIVE YEARS OLD YOU DON'T TOUCH IT
IN A STORE UNLESS YOU'RE GOING TO BUY IT.
YOU KNOW, MAKING RUDE COMMENTS ABOUT PEOPLE'S APPEARANCE.
YOU KNOW, THIS IS AN-- AND ALL THESE OTHER STUFF IS NOT ALL
RIGHT AND HAVING AUTISM
OR ASPERGER'S IS NOT AN EXCUSED FOR THIS.
BUT YOU GOT TO DIFFERENTIATE BETWEEN THE SENSORY PROBLEMS
BECAUSE YOU CAN'T-- SOMETIMES THE KID'S GOING
TO HAVE A MELTDOWN WHEN THEY GET TIRED.
THEY JUST CAN'T STAND IT ESPECIALLY
WHEN THEY GOT OVERSTIMULATED
AND THEY GET A DIFFERENTIATE RUDENESS
FROM GETTING OVERSTIMULATED.
YOU DON'T EVER, EVER PUNISH SENSORY PROBLEMS EVER.
NOW, SOME KIDS, IN HOW LITTLE YOU START, YOU KNOW,
LIKE THEY'RE FINALLY GOOD AT SOMETHING LIKE DRAWING.
ONE OF THE THINGS I WANT TO EMPHASIZE IS BUILDING
ON THE AREA OF STRENGTH.
KIDS THAT ARE ON THE SPECTRUM ARE OFTEN GOOD AT ONE THING
AND BAD AT SOMETHING ELSE.
WE GOT TO BUILD ON THE AREA OF STRENGTH.
WHAT IS THIS PERSON GOOD AT?
IT'S REALLY, REALLY IMPORTANT.
UNFORTUNATELY IN SPECIAL ED, THERE'S TOO MUCH EMPHASIS
ON THE DEFICITS AND NOT ENOUGH EMPHASIS
ON BUILDING ON THE STRENGTH AREA.
ALSO THE KIDS WILL GET FIXATED ON SOMETHING.
IF THE KID LIKES AIRPLANES, READ BOOKS WITH AIRPLANES,
DO MATH WITH AIRPLANES.
I'VE HAD PEOPLE SAY, ALL HE WANTS TO DO IS PLAY POKEMON.
WELL, IF HE'S GOOD AT DRAWING, LEAVE HIM ALONE
TO DRAW PICTURES OF POKEMON.
OK. NOW WE'RE GOING TO DO POKEMON'S CAR, POKEMON'S HOUSE.
IN OTHER WORDS, BROADEN THAT OUT, BROADEN THAT OUT.
YOU KNOW, EVEN SOMEBODY THAT'S NON-VERBAL IS GOING
TO HAVE SOME AREAS OF STRENGTH.
WE'VE GOT TO BUILD ON THOSE AREAS OF STRENGTH.
NOW, I'M A VISUAL THINKER.
I-- EVERY THING I THINK ABOUT IS LIKE GOOGLE FOR IMAGES.
LANGUAGE NARRATES THE PICTURES IN MY MIND.
YOU KNOW, I THINK ABOUT SOMETHING,
IT COMES UP LIKE PICTURES, PHOTO REALISTIC PICTURES.
THAT'S HOW I THINK.
AND THOSE ARE 16 MILLIMETER MOVIE REELS IN MY HEAD.
THEY DON'T HAVE THOSE ANYMORE.
NOW, WHEN I DESIGN EQUIPMENT,
I CAN ACTUALLY TEST-RUN IT IN MY HEAD.
I DIDN'T EVEN KNOW THAT WAS A SPECIAL SKILL.
I THOUGHT EVERYBODY COULD TEST-RUN EQUIPMENT
IN THEIR HEAD.
I DIDN'T KNOW IT WAS A SPECIAL SKILL
UNTIL I STARTED INTERVIEWING PEOPLE ABOUT HOW THEY THINK.
I DIDN'T EVEN KNOW THAT MOST PEOPLE THOUGHT IT WORKS.
NOW, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT'S BEEN VERY INTERESTING,
HAS BEEN FOUND OUT, IS THE AUTISTIC BRAIN IS INTO DETAILS
AND A NORMAL BRAIN TENDS TO DROP
OUT DETAILS AND GET OVERLY VAGUE.
IT'S A CONTINUUM.
NOW, YOU WANT YOUR AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLER
AND BE A LITTLE BIT OBSESSIVE BECAUSE YOU'D
LIKE TO NOT HAVE THE PLANE SMASHING WITH EACH OTHER.
YOU'D LIKE TO HAVE YOUR BRIDGE ENGINEER NOT FORGET
ABOUT THE DETAILS BECAUSE OTHERWISE BRIDGE IS GOING
TO FALL DOWN THAT SIMPLE.
THIS IS ONE OF MY PROJECTS THAT WAS BUILT DOWN IN BRAZIL.
AND I LIKE THIS ONE BECAUSE I LIKE TO FANTASIZE
ABOUT WHAT THE ARCHEOLOGISTS ARE GOING TO THINK THIS WAS
FOR WHEN THEY DIG IT UP.
[ LAUGHTER ]
AND OBVIOUSLY, OF COURSE, IT HAD GREAT,
GREAT RELIGIOUS SIGNIFICANCE.
[ LAUGHTER ]
NOW, HOW DO YOU FORM A CONCEPT WHEN YOU THINK IN PICTURES?
YOU FORM A CONCEPT BY SORTING PICTURES INTO CATEGORIES.
MAKING CATEGORIES IS THE BEGINNING OF CONCEPT FORMATION.
AND NOW THIS LITTLE BOY SENT ME ANOTHER PICTURE SHOWING HOW HE'S
SORTING CATS AND DOGS INTO DIFFERENT BOXES.
YOU KNOW, IN ORDER TO DIFFERENTIATE A CAT FROM A DOG.
WELL, A DOG IS BIGGER THAN A CAT.
OK. THAT'S ONE WAY YOU'RE GOING TO DO IT.
BUT THEN, WHEN YOU GET A LITTLE TINY DOG INTO THE NEIGHBORHOOD,
I CAN NO LONGER SORT THEM BY SIZE.
AND WHEN OUR NEXT DOOR NEIGHBOR'S BOUGHT A DACHSHUND,
I HAD TO FIGURE OUT WHY SHE WASN'T A CAT.
AND I LOOKED AT HER AND I LOOKED AT HER AND I LOOKED AT HER
AND I HAD TO FIND A VISUAL FEATURE EVERY SINGLE DOG HAS
THAT NONE OF THE CATS HAVE GOT.
AND EVERY SINGLE DOG, NO MATTER HOW WEIRD,
HAS GOT EXACTLY THE SAME NOSE.
IN OTHER WORDS I FOUND A VISUAL FEATURE
WHERE YOU COULD CATEGORIZE ALL OF THE DOGS.
IT'S SENSORY-BASED CATEGORIZATION.
IT'S NOT WORD-BASED.
YOU COULD ALSO DO IT BY SOUND, BARKING OR MEOWING.
THAT IS SOUND-BASED.
NOW, I USED TO JOKE AROUND ABOUT MAYBE HAVING A BIG INTERNET
CONNECTION DEEP UNDER THE VISUAL CORTEX
AND DR. NANCY MINSHEW DID A BRAIN SCAN, SPECIAL KIND
OF BRAIN SCAN ON ME AND FOUND THAT MY BIG TRUNK LINE
DOWN THE BASE OF THE BRAIN AND ALL BRAINS HAS A BIG,
HUGE TRUNK LINE THAT'S DOWN IN HERE WHERE ALL
OF THE PROCESSOR UNITS TIE INTO THAT WORKING FROM THE FRONT
TO THE BACK OF THE BRAIN AND DEEP INTO THE VISUAL CORTEX.
AND WHEN I GOT COPY OF THESE PICTURES I'M LIKE WOW, WELL,
THAT BEGINS TO EXPLAIN IT.
YOU KNOW, MINE'S A WHOLE LOT BIGGER AND THERE I GOT A GREAT,
BIG ONE ON THE RIGHT SIDE BUT I PAY A PRICE FOR THIS.
MAN, I COULD NOT DO ALGEBRA.
IT'S TOO ABSTRACT, THERE'S NOTHING THERE
FOR ME TO VISUALIZE.
AND I'M FINDING A LOT OF KIDS WHERE THEY NEED
TO GO STRAIGHT TO GEOMETRY AND TRIG.
THEY CAN DO GEOMETRY AND TRIG, I'VE NEVER HAD A CHANCE
TO REALLY DO GEOMETRY AND TRIG BECAUSE I FAILED ALGEBRA
SO THEY KEPT POUNDING AWAY ON ALGEBRA.
I HAD A FANTASTIC SCIENCE TEACHER WHO TOOK MY FIXATIONS
AND USED THEM TO MOTIVATE ME IN SCIENCE.
BECAUSE WHEN I WAS IN HIGH SCHOOL, IT'S TERRIBLE.
TEASE, TEASE, TEASE WORST PART
OF MY LIFE IT WAS ABSOLUTELY, YOU KNOW, BEYOND.
IT'S TOTALLY DREADFUL.
BUT NOW I HAD A GOAL BECOMING A SCIENTIST SO I STOPPED GOOFING
AROUND IN SCHOOL BUT I JUST COULDN'T DO ALGEBRA,
IT'S JUST TOTALLY IMPOSSIBLE.
NOW I HAVE FOUND THAT ON THE-- YOU KNOW, SINCE WHAT HAPPENS
IN AUTISM AND ASPERGER'S
AND ERIC COURCHESNE HAS DONE RESEARCH
ON THIS HERE IN CALIFORNIA.
AND DR. COURCHESNE HAS FOUND THAT,
YOU KNOW THERE'S ABNORMALITIES
IN THESE INTERCONNECTED CIRCUITS.
THERE'S NOT ENOUGH OF THEM TO GO AROUND.
SO WHAT TENDS TO HAPPEN, ONE PART OF THE BRAIN IS WIRED,
MAYBE EXTRA OTHER PART OF THE BRAIN GETS LEFT OUT.
AND I HAD KIND OF FOUND--
THERE'S KIND OF THREE SPECIALIZED TYPES.
NOW, YOU CAN HAVE MIXTURES OF THESE.
THE VISUAL THINKER LIKE ME PHOTO REALISTIC PICTURES,
BAD AT ALGEBRA.
MUSIC AND MATH MINDS, THIS IS A TYPE OF VISUAL THINKING
BUT IT'S MORE ABSTRACT.
IT'S PATTERN THINKING.
IT'S PATTERN THINKING.
IN MY BOOK THINKING IN PICTURES, I EXPLAINED VISUAL THINKING
BUT IN ANOTHER BOOK CALLED BORN ON A BLUE DAY,
DANIEL TAMMET IS GOING TO DO A VERY NICE JOB DESCRIBING
TO THE WORLD OF PATTERN THINKING.
THEN ANOTHER TYPE, IT'S A WORD THINKER.
THEY KNOW LOTS AND LOTS OF FACTS.
OFTENTIMES, THEY LOVE HISTORY.
THEY MIGHT MAKE GOOD JOURNALISTS AND THEN TERRIBLE AT DRAWING.
THEY'RE ABSOLUTELY NOT A VISUAL THINKER.
OH, I PRESSED THE WRONG THING THERE.
NOW, I WANT TO TRY TO GIVE YOU A GLIMPSE INTO THE MIND
OF THE PATTERN THINKER.
IN THESE SLIDES, A LOT OF THEM DELIBERATELY DO NOT
HAVE WRITING.
I'M TRYING TO GET YOU AWAY FROM LANGUAGE.
I GOT TO GET YOU INTO AN ALTERNATE REALITY HERE.
THAT PRAYING MANTIS, THAT'S A WORK OF ROBERT LANG,
IS MADE OUT OF A SINGLE SHEET OF FOLDED PAPER.
THAT PRAYING MANTIS, YOU SEE ON THAT SLIDE.
NOW YOU SEE THE PATTERN THAT'S IN THE BACKGROUND THERE.
THAT IS THE FOLDING PATTERN FOR MAKING THE PRAYING MANTIS.
NOW I CAN'T-- THERE'S NO WAY I COULD POSSIBLY DO THIS,
ABSOLUTELY NO WAY.
IT'S ANOTHER KIND OF MIND.
AND THESE GUYS TEND TO BE HAVE TROUBLE WITH READING ENGLISH.
THAT TENDS TO BE THEIR WEAK AREA.
KIND OF YOU TEACH A CONCEPT?
YOU TEACH A CONCEPT LIKE NOT RUNNING ACROSS THE STREET.
I MEAN I'VE HAD PARENTS SAY, WELL, MY KID OBEYS A RULE
AT HOME, BUT AT SCHOOL HE RUNS ACROSS THE STREET.
AT THE CHURCH, HE RUNS ACROSS THE STREET.
WHAT YOU GOT TO DO IS YOU GOT TO TEACH HIM IN MANY,
MANY DIFFERENT STREETS.
MANY, MANY DIFFERENT STREETS GO INTO THE NOT RUNNING
ACROSS THE STREET CATEGORY.
THEN HE'LL START TO GET A CONCEPT.
AT THE SAME WAY YOU TEACH A GUIDE DOG
OR SEEING EYE DOG ABOUT INTERSECTIONS.
YOU MUST SHOW HIM MANY KINDS OF INTERSECTIONS
BECAUSE IF YOU'RE ONLY SHOWING INTERSECTIONS WITH WHITE LINES,
HE WON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO IF THERE'S NO WHITE LINES.
OR LET'S SAY YOU ONLY SHOWED THEM INTERSECTIONS
WITH STOPLIGHTS, HE'S NOT GOING TO KNOW WHAT TO DO
WITH INTERSECTIONS THAT HAVE STOP SIGNS.
YOU SEE DIFFERENT PICTURES.
IT'S VERY SPECIFIC.
NORMAL HUMAN BEING IS-- DROPS OUT THE DETAILS.
YOU KNOW, PLAY GAMES WITH CATEGORIES.
DR. NANCY MINSHEW FOUND THAT YOU COULD SAY--
YOU COULD LAY OUT SOME OBJECTS AND YOU COULD SAY
TO AN AUTISTIC KID, PICK OUT THE RED THINGS,
AND HE COULD DO THAT.
BUT IF YOU ASK HIM TO PICK OUT NEW CATEGORIES
FOR THESE THINGS I'M SHOWING ON THE SCREEN LIKE MAYBE THE,
YOU KNOW, MAKE UP NEW CATEGORIES, ROUND OBJECTS,
CONTAINS PLASTIC, CONTAINS CLOTH IS AN ARTICLE OF CLOTHING,
YOU KNOW, THINGS THAT HAVE METAL IN THEM.
PLAY GAMES WITH CATEGORIES.
IT HELPS TO TEACH FLEXIBILITY OF THINKING.
ONE OF THE PROBLEMS IN AUTISTIC THINKING IS IT'S VERY RIGID.
NOW, WHEN WE WERE KIDS, WE PLAY LOTS AND LOTS
OF THAT GAME 20 QUESTIONS.
HOW MANY PEOPLE HERE KNOW WHAT 20 QUESTIONS IS?
OK. REALLY GOOD GAME BECAUSE IT'S TEACHING CATEGORIES YOU
KNOW, THAT RED BALL IS RED.
IT'S ALSO ROUND.
IT COULD BE USED-- IF IS SAID,
PICK UP OBJECTS HERE FOR RECREATION.
OK. THE BALL, THE HATS
BUT IT MIGHT DEPEND UPON WHO'S USING THE HATS AND WHERE
BECAUSE THAT BALL COULD ALSO BE USED FOR HAND THERAPY.
IT'S THE SAME KIND OF BALL THAT'S USED FOR HAND THERAPY.
OK. WHEN I WAS THREE AND FOUR YEARS OLD,
LIKE WE DIDN'T HAVE IEPS OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT
WHEN I WAS A CHILD BUT WE HAD AN EDUCATION PLAN
FOR MY SUMMER ON THIS LITTLE CAMP.
I WAS GOING TO LEARN THE LORD'S PRAYER AND I WAS GOING TO LEARN
TO DO MY VERY, VERY, VERY BEST.
AND I LEARNED THE LORD'S PRAYER
AND I ABSOLUTELY HAVE NO IDEA WHAT IT MEANT.
AND THE ONLY THING THAT MEANT ANYTHING TO ME WAS THE POWER
AND THE GLORY AND I PICTURED A RAINBOW WITH ELECTRIC TOWER
IN THE BASE OF THE RAINBOW.
THAT IS THE POWER AND THE GLORY AND YOU MIGHT BE INTERESTED
TO KNOW THAT THIS PICTURE HERE IS NO PHOTOSHOP TRICKS
OR ANYTHING.
I ACTUALLY TOOK THAT.
IT'S A REAL PICTURE.
NO TRICKS.
NOW, SOME PEOPLE SAY AUTISTIC LEARNING IS JUST MEMORIZATION
AND SCRIPTING.
IN THE BEGINNING, IT'S JUST MEMORIZATION AND SCRIPTING
BUT AS I LEARN MORE AND MORE AND MORE AND MORE THINGS,
MY SEARCH ENGINE, MY MIND WORKS JUST LIKE GOOGLE FOR IMAGES.
SO AS I LOAD MORE AND MORE DATA IN HERE,
MY SEARCH ENGINE CAN PUT IT AROUND AND CATEGORIZE IT
IN DIFFERENT WAYS AND THEN YOU GET LESS SORT OF ROBOTIC
AND LESS SORT OF LIKE SCRIPTED
BECAUSE I CAN PUT IT TOGETHER UNDER NEW CATEGORIES.
I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT FOR AUTISTIC KIDS
TO SEE A LOT OF THINGS.
WHEN I WAS 15 YEARS OLD THE OPPORTUNITY CAME
UP TO GO TO MY AUNT'S RANCH.
I WAS SCARED TO GO BUT MOTHER MADE ME GO.
THAT WAS GOOD.
YOU DON'T SHOVE KIDS INTO SURPRISES.
SURPRISES CAUSE PANIC.
BUT SOME OF THESE KIDS NEEDED TO BE PUSHED A BIT.
TRY NEW THINGS AND THAT WAS THE BEST THING THAT EVER HAPPENED.
OK. SO VISUAL THINKER, YOU OUGHT TO BE GOOD AT THIS.
SEE THIS FIGURE RIGHT HERE?
HOW MANY OF YOU SEE IT IN A PINK AND YELLOW FIGURE,
HOW MANY CAN SEE THAT?
OH, DOING KIND OF BAD, YOU KNOW, WELL I DON'T HAVE THE COMPUTER
UP HERE TO DEMONSTRATE IT.
YOU KNOW JUST KICK YOURSELF.
NOW, WHEN YOU TAKE SOMEBODY THAT'S A REALLY GOOD VISUAL
THINKER AND YOU PUT THEM IN A BRAIN SCANNER,
JUST THE VISION PART OF THE BRAIN GETS TURNED ON
AND OTHER STUFFS TURN OFF.
SO NOW I'M GOING TO SHOW YOU HOW I CAN USE VISUAL THINKING
IN A MORE ABSTRACT WAY.
THIS IS A VISUAL SYMBOL PICTURE FOR THE BRAIN SCAN
OF THE AUTISTIC PERSON.
IT'S LIKE THIS LITTLE BRIGHT CABIN IN THE WILDERNESS THAT,
YOU KNOW, THAT'S IT'S ALL SNOW
AND YOU DON'T HAVE ALL THESE OTHER INTERCONNECTIONS.
THE BRAIN SCAN OF A NORMAL PERSON'S LIKE THIS LAMP STORE,
YOU SEE, YOU GOT SO MUCH OTHER STUFF YOU TURNED ON.
IT ACTUALLY COVERS UP THE VISUAL THINKING.
IN FACT, THERE'S RESEARCH THAT'S BEEN DONE NOW IN THE BRAIN
THAT SHOWS THAT LANGUAGE COVERS UP VISUAL THINKING,
MUSICAL THINKING, THE MORE DETAILED SENSORY-BASED THINKING.
OH, WHAT'S THAT ALL ABOUT?
WELL, I KNOW THIS IS A STRETCH BUT THAT KIND OF REMIND ME
TO TALK ABOUT INTERCONNECTEDNESS OF BRAIN SYSTEMS.
I KNOW THAT'S A STRETCH, YOU KNOW, SKELETAL BUILDING.
I'M TRYING TO GIVE YOU AN INSIGHT INTO HOW I WAS ABLE--
HOW I CAN DO SOME ABSTRACT THINKING
BY USING THESE VISUAL SYMBOL PICTURES.
BUT YOU SEE, I ALWAYS HAVE TO GO BACK
TO AN IMAGE OR I CAN NOT THINK.
IN FACT, REMEMBERING NUMBERS, I'M REALLY TERRIBLE
ABOUT THAT, ABSOLUTELY TERRIBLE.
I ONLY HAVE MEMORIZED LIKE ABOUT SEVEN OR EIGHT PHONE NUMBERS.
THING IS, WHEN YOU HEAR A WORD, SEE A WORD, SPEAK A WORD
OR THINK ABOUT A WORD, SEE
THAT DIFFERENT PARTS OF BRAIN TURNED ON?
THE NORMAL BRAIN IS ALL KINDS OF INTERCONNECTIONS WHILE
IN AUTISM, YOU KNOW, SOME PARTS GET EXTRA WIRINGS,
SOME GETS NONE BUT THE TENDENCY IS FOR THE FRONTAL CORTEX,
THE BRAIN'S CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER,
THAT TENDS TO JUST GET A FEW DIALOGUES OF ITS LINE.
THAT'S ALL IT GETS.
NOW, THIS IS A PIECE OF ART THAT CAME FROM AN ALZHEIMER'S PATIENT
THAT HAD NO PREVIOUS INTEREST IN ART.
IT'S CALLED FRONTOTEMPORAL LOBE DEMENTIA.
IN A FRONTOTEMPORAL LOBE DEMENTIA AID
OUT THE LANGUAGE PARTS OF THE BRAIN AND THEN ART TALENT SHOWED
UP OR MUSIC TALENT SHOWED UP.
THEN FOUR OR FIVE YEARS LATER,
THE ALZHEIMER'S WRECK EVERYTHING.
BUT THERE WAS THIS PERIOD WHERE THE LANGUAGE WAS RUINED
AND THIS ART TALENT SHOWED UP AND THIS IS BRUCE MILLER'S WORK,
PUBLISHED IN THE JOURNAL OF NEUROLOGY.
YOU KNOW, THIS IS A SCIENTIFIC JOURNAL THIS IS PUBLISHED IN.
THERE'S ANOTHER PIECE OF THIS ART FROM ONE OF THESE PEOPLE.
ONE OF THEM WAS A TAPE DECK INSTALLER,
YOU KNOW, CAR STEREO INSTALLER.
FOR THE VISUAL THINKER, YOU GOT TO MAKE TEACHING MATH CONCRETE.
YOU KNOW, IF YOU'RE WORKING WITH SOME OF THE NON-VERBAL KIDS,
WORK WITH BLOCKS THAT ARE DIFFERENT LENGTHS
WITH DIFFERENT NUMBERS SO THEY CAN FEEL THE NUMBERS, SEE THEM.
CUT UP A PIECE OF FOOD THAT TEACHES FRACTIONS,
HALF AN APPLE, QUARTER OF AN APPLE
OR IF THAT'S TOO MESSY THEN CUT UP CARDBOARD CIRCLES.
OVER HERE IS JUST LITTLE THINGS YOU CAN MANIPULATE LIKE,
YOU KNOW, FOUR PLUS FIVE EQUALS NINE AND THESE LITTLE THINGS
THAT I CAN HANDLE, LITTLE PIECES I CAN HANDLE AND TOUCH.
SO NUMBERS ARE REAL, YOU CAN USE PENNIES.
PENNIES WORK REALLY, REALLY WELL.
DON'T USE NICKELS OR DIMES THAT WILL BE CONFUSING,
USE PENNIES BECAUSE THEY ARE A UNIT OF ONE.
I THINK THIS IS CLEVER, THIS IS FROM THE TEACCH PROGRAM.
WE GOT FIVE MINUS ONE EQUALS FOUR.
AND WHEN YOU TAKE A PIECE AWAY YOU BAG IT IN A BAGGY
BECAUSE YOU TOOK IT AWAY.
THAT MAKES SUBTRACTION CONCRETE, I THOUGHT THAT WAS CLEVER.
HERE IS SIX MINUS FIVE EQUALS ONE.
AND YOU GOT FIVE PIECES IN THE BAG BECAUSE YOU TOOK THEM AWAY.
AND WHAT'S THIS ALL ABOUT, BOXES ON FORKLIFT PALLETS.
WELL 10 YEAS AGO AT CSU WE HAD A GIANT FLOOD, AND IT FLOODED
THAT BASEMENTS AND 13, 14 OF OUR BUILDINGS WE HAD THREE FEET
OF WATER ROLL ACROSS CAMPUS.
AND I WAS VERY UPSET ABOUT BOOKS GETTING WRECKED.
YOU SEE IN THIS-- INTERNET WASN'T THAT BIG AT THIS TIME.
AND WHAT THEY'RE DOING IS THEY'RE RESCUING YOU KNOW,
WET BOOKS.
BUT THE IDEA OF BOOKS BEING DESTROYED REALLY UPSET ME
BECAUSE KNOWLEDGE WAS BEING DESTROYED.
AND I GOT THE THINKING ABOUT THIS, WHY WAS I SO UPSET
ABOUT THE LIBRARY HAD BEEN TRASHED?
I MEAN THAT ONE-- WHEN I WAS
AT THE ANIMAL SCIENCE MEETINGS I OPEN--
I GOT THE USA TODAY SHOVED AT THE DOOR OF MY HOTEL,
IN THE FRONT PAGE OF USA TODAY WAS WRECKED BOOKS
OF MY UNIVERSITY.
AND I GOT THE THINKING ABOUT THIS AND I THINK I AM WHAT I DO.
YES I'VE GOT EMOTIONS.
AND WHEN KIDS TEASE ME IT HURT A LOT BUT MY EMOTIONS ARE SIMPLER.
I CAN BE HAPPY, I CAN BE SAD, THEY'RE MORE IN THE PRESENT.
I CAN GO BACK TO WHERE TIMES
WHEN THERE WAS AN EMERGENCY LANDING ON A PLANE
AND EVEN JOKE ABOUT IT.
IT KIND OF WASN'T A JOKE AT THE TIME.
WENT DOWN THOSE EMERGENCY SLIDES
AND LET ME TELL YOU IT'S SCARY, SCARY, SCARY.
I THOUGHT THE PLANE WAS GOING TO, YOU KNOW,
THEY THOUGHT IT HAD A BOMB IN IT.
YOU KNOW, I WAS LIKE WHEN I WAS SENIOR
IN HIGH SCHOOL WHEN THAT HAPPENED.
BUT I CAN PLAY THAT LIKE VIDEO BACK IN MY HEAD
AND IT DOESN'T BOTHER ME BUT AT THE TIME IT
AS VERY SCARY I MEAN I WAS TOTALLY, TOTALLY WHITE KNUCKLES
ON EMERGENCY LANDING OF A PLANE.
THEY THOUGH THEY HAD 10 MINUTES TO GET IT DOWN.
AND WHAT I'VE DONE IS I REPLACED EMOTIONAL COMPLEXITY
WITH INTELLECTUAL COMPLEXITY.
THIS IS ONE OF THE REASONS WHY I PUT SO MUCH EMPHASIS ON CAREERS
BECAUSE I GET SOCIAL INTERACTION THROUGH SHARED INTERESTS.
WE'VE GOT TO BUILD AROUND THE INTERESTS, YOU KNOW,
YOU LOOK AT PEOPLE OF HIGH FUNCTIONING AUTISM
OR ASPERGER'S YOU KNOW THAT HAVE MADE A GOOD ADJUSTMENT.
THEY WERE TAUGHT FORMAL INSTRUCTION
AND ALMOST APPRENTICED INTO A CAREER.
MR. CARLOCK, MY SCIENCE TEACHER TAUGHT ME HOW TO USE THE--
HOW TO LOOK THINGS UP IN SCIENTIFIC JOURNALS.
I MEAN REAL SCIENTIFIC JOURNALS, NOT THE ENCYCLOPEDIA BRITANNICA
OR TODAY OR THE WIKIPEDIA.
YOU'VE GOT TO GET PASS THAT AND GET TO THE REAL THINGS.
HOW DO YOU GET OFF THE WILD INTERNET AND GET
INTO THE NATIONAL LIBRARY OF MEDICINE?
TODAY YOU WOULD HAVE SHOWED ME THINGS LIKE PUBMED, P-U-B-M-E-D,
YOU TYPE THOSE MAGIC LITTLE LETTERS INTO GOOGLE AND YOU'RE
INTO THE NATIONAL LIBRARY OF MEDICINE.
YOU'RE OFF THE INTERNET AND YOU'RE IN--
YOU'RE OFF ON WHAT I CALL THE WILD NET.
AND YOU'RE INTO THE NATIONAL LIBRARY OF MEDICINE AND YOU CAN
LIKE GET SUMMARIES OF SCIENTIFIC ARTICLES FOR FREE.
I MEAN THAT'S ABSOLUTELY WONDERFUL.
I MEAN HE WOULD HAVE TAUGHT ME ABOUT THAT.
YOU KNOW, I SAW SOMEBODY THAT WAS
AT MY AGE THAT'S VERY SUCCESSFUL VIDEO PHOTOGRAPHER.
WELL HE GOT SOME FORMAL INSTRUCTION IN PHOTOGRAPHY
FROM A NEXT DOOR NEIGHBOR.
YOU KNOW, SOMEBODY ASK THAT, YOU KNOW, TEACH HIM,
TALENT HAS TO BE DEVELOPED, SKILLS HAVE TO BE DEVELOPED.
NOW THE THING IS NANCY DID ANOTHER BRAIN SCAN ON ME
AND SHE SHOWED ME PICTURES OF PEOPLE AND PICTURES OF THINGS.
WELL ACTUALLY IT WAS AN OLD PINK FLOYD VIDEO I THINK SHE USED.
[ LAUGHTER ]
WELL I DIDN'T RECOGNIZE IT AS THAT, LET'S NOT FIGURE
OUT WHERE SHE GOT ALL THE WEIRD CARS AND STUFF FROM.
AND SO I WAS LOOKING AT THE THINGS MORE AND I WAS TRYING
TO FIGURE OUT WHAT YEAR IT WAS LOOKING AT THE CARS.
SO I WAS PAYING MORE ATTENTION TO THE THINGS.
BUT THE THING IS YOU DIDN'T HAVE PEOPLE
IN THIS WORLD INTERESTED IN THINGS.
YOU WOULDN'T HAVE ANY ELECTRICITY IN THIS BUILDING.
TESLA WHO INVENTED THE POWER PLANT WOULD DEFINITELY BE
LABELED ARTISTIC TODAY NOT ASPERGER'S TODAY ARTISTIC.
AND EINSTEIN WOULD HAVE BEEN LABELED AUTISTIC TODAY.
NO SPEECH UNTIL AGE THREE AND YOU OPEN
UP ANY BUSINESS MAGAZINE THERE'S ALL KIND
OF ASPERGER'S PROFILED ALL OVER.
THEY ARE NOT DIAGNOSED, THAT' WHAT KEEP SILICON VALLEY GOING.
AND I'M SAYING THAT WITH ALL SERIOUSNESS.
WE NEED TO HAVE PEOPLE THAT ARE INTERESTED IN THINGS.
HOW DO YOU THINK MADE THE FIRST STONE SPHERE?
IT WASN'T THE SOCIAL PEOPLE YAKKING AROUND THE CAMP FIRE.
[ LAUGHTER ]
THAT'S FOR SURE.
DETAILS. RIGHT HERE YOU GOT LITTLE LETTERS
AND YOU GOT BIG LETTERS.
AND THE PERSON ON THE SPECTRUM WILL PICK
OUT THE LITTLE LETTERS QUICKER
BECAUSE THEY TEND TOO LOOK FOR THE DETAILS.
SOCIAL INTERACTION TO SHARED INTERESTS,
I JUST CAN NOT EMPHASIZE THAT ENOUGH.
WE'VE GOT TO GET THESE KIDS THAT ARE GETTING TEASED IN THE THINGS
LIKE COMPUTER CLUB, ROBOTICS CLUB, JOURNALISM CLUB, MUSIC,
ART, AND ALL OF THE, YOU KNOW CHESS CLUB AND, YOU KNOW,
IF THEY LIKE HISTORY, A HISTORY CLUB, ALL THE THINGS
WHERE THEY CAN DO SHARED INTEREST.
BECAUSE WHEN I WAS IN HIGH SCHOOL THE ONLY REFUGES I HAD
AWAY FROM TEASING WERE HORSEBACK RIDING, THE SCIENCE LAB.
THE KIDS THAT WERE INTERESTED
IN THOSE THINGS WERE NOT THE KIDS DOING THE TEASING.
THEY WERE REFUGES AWAY FROM TEASING, YOU KNOW,
SOME OF THESE KIDS ON-- THERE'S SOME OF THESE REALLY SMART KIDS
THAT NEED TO GO FROM CHILDHOOD TO GROWNUP HOOD.
SKIP HIGH SCHOOL AND THEN THEY JUST GO RIGHT STRAIGHT
TO COMMUNITY COLLEGE.
I'M SAYING IT'S ABSOLUTELY SERIOUS,
I'M RUNNING INTO QUITE A FEW OF THESE.
BUT THEY BETTER LEARN SOME MANNERS.
THERE'S A RULE OF COMMUNITY COLLEGE.
YOU DON'T INTERRUPT CLASSES
AND THERE'S A RULE HERE AT THIS UNIVERSITY.
AND OUR LECTURE, YOU'RE ALLOWED ONE QUESTION
AND YOU CAN'T BE TALKING BACK AND FORTH
TO THE TEACHER, THAT'S THE RULE.
I FOLLOW THAT RULE.
YOU KNOW AND THEN, FOR MOST CLASSES UNLESS IT'S A SMALL
DISCUSSION CLASS, YOU KNOW, LIKE 15 STUDENTS OR LESS,
THAT'S FOR DARN GOOD RULE OF THE [INAUDIBLE].
YOU KNOW, AND ANOTHER THING WITH THESE KIDS,
THEY ARE ABOUNDING WITH EVEN SKILLS.
I'VE SEEN A FOURTH GRADER THAT HAS TO HAVE SPECIAL ED
IN ENGLISH, NEEDS TO BE IN HIGH SCHOOL MATH.
IF YOU MAKE HIM DO BABY MATH, HIS GOING TO JUST MISBEHAVE
OR MAYBE HE'LL NEED SPECIAL ED.
MATH AND NEEDS TO BE, YOU KNOW, READING COLLEGE TEXTBOOKS.
YOU KNOW IN READING THEN LET HIM DO IT.
KEEP BUILDING ON THAT SKILL, YOU KNOW, I LOOK INTO ONES
THAT ARE SUCCESSFUL, THESE ARE THE THINGS THAT HAVE BEEN DONE.
WELL THERE'S A LOT OF INTERESTING STUFF OUT THERE,
HAVE YOU WONDERED HOW GOOGLE ACTUALLY WORKS?
DO YOU KNOW THAT WHEN YOU USE GOOGLE YOU ACTUALLY AREN'T EVEN
ON THE WILD INTERNET YOU'RE ACTUALLY
IN A GIGANTIC SERVER FARM?
BECAUSE GOOGLE HAS A PROGRAM THAT GOES OUT
AND COLLECTS ALL THE INFORMATION OFF ALL OF WEB PAGES
AROUND THE WORLD STORES IT IN THESE BIG WAREHOUSES FULL
OF MILLIONS OF COMPUTERS AND THEY'RE CALLED SERVER FARMS.
WELL IF YOU REALLY LIKE COMPUTERS YOU GOT
TO THINK THIS IS JUST, YOU KNOW, COMPUTER HEAVEN.
BUT WE GOT TO GET KIDS EXPOSED TO INTERESTING THINGS.
ONE OF MY BIG CONCERNS, YOU KNOW, IF YOU'RE IN THIS AREA
IN CALIFORNIA YOU'RE EXPOSED TO ALL THE TECHIE STUFF.
YOU KNOW, THERE'S A LOT OF ASPERGER'S GO RIGHT
IN SILICON VALLEY TO DO THIS GREAT AND NEVER DIAGNOSED
BUT TO GET OUT IN THE MIDWEST A LOT OF PEOPLE WORKING
ON EDUCATIONAL DON'T KNOW ANYTHING
ABOUT ANYTHING TECHNICAL, IT'S A BIG WORLD OUT THERE.
HOW DO YOU GET IN TO INTERESTING PLACES LIKE THAT?
YOU KNOW, IT'S ALL WHO YOU KNOW.
YOU GOT TO WORK ON FINDING THE BACK DOOR I'LL SHOW YOU--
AND, YOU KNOW, BUSINESS MAGAZINES WRITE THEM UP
AND THEY SAY [INAUDIBLE] IS UGLY.
WELL WHEN I WAS IN HIGH SCHOOL I WENT BOARDING SCHOOL.
MY ROOMMATE JUST SWOON OVER THE BEATLES.
I REMEMBER WHEN THE BEATLES CAME OUT ON THE ED SULLIVAN SHOW,
CAROL SEES RINGO UP THERE AND SHE JUST GOES, OH, RINGO.
WELL, I HAVE A FRIEND WHO'S REALLY INTO COMPUTERS AND WE GOT
TO TALK IN ABOUT SERVER FARMS.
MAN, IT WAS LIKE ROMANCE.
AND SHE'S GOING, OH, SERVER FARMS.
OH NIRVANA, COMPUTER NIRVANA.
WELL WE NEED TO HAVE PEOPLE LIKE THAT
OR YOU WOULDN'T EVEN HAVE ANY INTERNET.
YOU LIKE TO USE GOOGLE AND STUFF LIKE THAT BUT YOU GOT
TO HAVE PEOPLE ON THE SPECTRUM, YOU KNOW,
AND MAKE SOMETHING LIKE GOOGLE.
OH I'M SERIOUS.
AUTISM IS A CONTINUUM, GOING FROM YOU KNOW WHERE IS--
WHEN DOES GEEK AND NERD BECOME ASPERGER'S?
YOU KNOW WHAT, FROM MY OWN ASPERGER GEEK
AND NERD IS EXACTLY THE SAME THING.
AND THEN YOU GET DOWN TO NON-VERBAL.
SO YOU'RE GOING ALL THE WAY FROM VERY SEVERE ALL THE WAY
UP TO BRILLIANT SCIENTISTS, MUSICIANS, JOURNALISTS,
ALL KINDS OF DIFFERENT THINGS.
WELL THEY DIDN'T LIKE FORTUNE,
THEY DIDN'T LIKE THE BUSINESS MAGAZINES GET, YOU KNOW,
IN THEIR AND PHOTOGRAPH MUCH BECAUSE THEY DON'T REALLY
LIKE TO HAVE THE NORMAL PEOPLE IN THERE.
BUT THE ONE THING THEY DIDN'T LET THEM PHOTOGRAPH WAS LOOK
AT ALL THESE ELECTRIC PANELS.
MAN THIS SERVER FARMS TAKE A LOT OF POWER.
SO THE NEXT THING THAT HAS TO BE FIGURED OUT IS HOW
TO GET RID OFF ALL THOSE ELECTRIC CORDS AND, YOU KNOW,
MAKE A MORE ENERGY FRIENDLY.
YOU KNOW, SOME ASPERGER'S GOT TO HAVE TO FIGURE THAT OUT.
[ LAUGHTER ]
SOME OF THE BEST SOCIAL INTERACTION I'VE EVER HAD WAS
WORKING ON CONSTRUCTION.
I LOVE WORKING WITH THE CONSTRUCTION GUYS.
I LOVE-- WE CAN JUST SPEND HOURS TALKING
ABOUT HOW TO BUILD STUFF.
ALSO I WAS A GOOD MEMORY OF THE LITTLE BOYS CLUB, YOU KNOW.
BECAUSE I GOT EMOTIONS BUT, YOU KNOW, CONSTRUCTION WORKERS SORT
OF REAL GET INTO THE 10-YEAR-OLD MODE AND WE GET TALKING
ABOUT THINGS LIKE WELL
AND ASTRONAUTS TOO CAN GET INTO THAT.
I READ THIS BOOK CALLED I HAVE TO RIDE A ROCKET.
AND ONE OF THE ASTRONAUTS,
IT WAS LIKE THE NASA UNOFFICIAL VERSION OF THE SPACE SHUTTLE
AND THE SPACE STATION AND I TALKED ALL ABOUT, YOU KNOW,
OF OUTERS PACE AND, YOU KNOW,
ALL OF KIND OF YOU KNOW WONDERFUL THINGS
BUT IT JUST WOULDN'T BE COMPLETE BOOK WITHOUT 25 PAGES
OF SHUTTLE TOILET MALFUNCTIONS.
[ LAUGHTER ]
AND. YES, SO I READ THE--
[ LAUGHTER ]
-- WE'RE NOT GOING TO ANY MORE OF THAT.
YEAH BUT IT WAS LIKE ONE SIDE SO INTELLECTUALLY COMPLEX BUT THEN,
YOU KNOW, THEY HAD GET INTO THE LITTLE BOY'S CLUB STUFF TOO.
NOW THE THING IS I-- WHEN I WAS A LITTLE KID, I WAS BROUGHT
UP WITH VERY CLEAR VALUES ABOUT RIGHT AND WRONG.
I DIDN'T SEE SPORTS PEOPLE BEHAVING BADLY
LIKE YOU DO TODAY.
LIKE THIS HORRIBLE MICHAEL VICK THING,
YOU KNOW SPORTS PEOPLE CHEATING AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
YOU KNOW, MOVIES AND THINGS WHEN I WAS A LITTLE KID
LIKE CLEAR CUT VALUES.
MY FAVORITE TV SHOW SUPER MAN
AND THE LONE RANGER WAS VERY CLEAR VALUES
ABOUT BEING A GOOD PERSON
AND A BAD PERSON IT'S ALL VERY, VERY CLEAR.
HOW ABOUT RELIGION?
I THINK ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT THINGS TEACH PEOPLE
ON THE SPECTRUM IS BEING A GOOD PERSON.
YOU KNOW, THE GOLDEN RULE TAUGHT VERY CONCRETELY WITH EXAMPLES.
NOW WHEN I WAS A LITTLE KID I STOLE A TOY FIRE ENGINE
FROM ANOTHER KID'S BIRTHDAY AND MOTHER MADE ME GIVE IT BACK.
AND SHE SAID "WELL YOU WOULDN'T LIKE IT
IF BILLY STOLE ONE OF YOUR TOYS."
YOU SEE THEN I UNDERSTOOD WHY I SHOULDN'T HAVE TAKEN
THAT TOY FIRE ENGINE.
I THINK OT, THE PRESSURE THINGS, THE SWINGING THINGS,
BALANCING ON A BALL IS PART OF A GOOD PROGRAM.
IT CAN HELP STABILIZE SOME OF THIS BAD SENSORY PROCESSING,
HELP TO CALM THINGS DOWN.
ANOTHER THING THAT I THINK IS ESSENTIAL IS EXERCISE.
A RESEARCH ON THE BENEFITS OF EXERCISE ON THE BRAIN
FOR EVERYBODY IS ABSOLUTELY CLEAR.
THERE'S A GIGANTIC REVIEW ARTICLE TRENDS
IN NEUROSCIENCES JUST LAST MONTH
ON THE BRAIN BENEFITS OF EXERCISE.
AND THERE ALSO WERE SOME PAPERS IN THERE
ON EXERCISE REDUCING SELF STIMMING BEHAVIOR.
THOSE ARE REFERENCED IN THINKING IN PICTURES.
THIS IS MY SQUEEZING MACHINE, WHEN I GOT INTO PUBERTY,
I START HAVING ABSOLUTELY HORRENDOUS PANIC ATTACKS.
IT WAS LIKE A CONSTANT STATE OF FEAR ALL THE TIME
BECAUSE THERE'S A MALFUNCTION IN MY NERVOUS SYSTEM.
IT WAS SORT OF LIKE OH, WOW, LOOKING FOR PREDATORS,
LOOKING FOR PREDATORS, YOU KNOW, ALL THE TIME.
YOU KNOW A FEAR SYSTEM IS TURNED
OUT ALL THE TIME, IT WAS TERRIBLE.
AND A PANIC PRESSURE HELP CALM ME DOWN, SOME PEOPLE ARE GOING
TO HAVE THIS PROBLEM, OTHERS DON'T.
IT'S NOW CONTROLLED, ANTI-DEPRESSANT MEDICATION.
I WAS ONE OF THE ONES THAT WERE SAVED
BY ANTI-DEPRESSANT MEDICATION.
YOU KNOW, IT'S, YOU KNOW, YOU'RE IN A WHOLE MEDICATION THING.
SOME PEOPLE NEED IT SOME PEOPLE DON'T,
WAY TOO MANY MEDICATIONS JUST GIVEN OUT LIKE CANDY.
THINKING IN PICTURES HAS BEEN UPDATED 2006
AND I UPDATED THE WHOLE MEDICAL SECTION IN IT.
BUT THE PRESSURE DEEP PRESSURE IS CALMING.
EXERCISE IS CALMING, SLOW SWINGING CAN BE CALMING,
BALANCING ON THE BALL, BALANCING ACTIVITIES CAN ALSO HELP
STABILIZE THE NERVOUS SYSTEM.
I THINK IT'S VERY IMPORTANT TO DESENSITIZE THESE LITTLE KIDS
TO TOUCH BECAUSE HELPS YOU TO HAVE FEELING OF KINDNESS.
FIRM PRESSURE IS CALMING LITTLE--
DON'T DO LITTLE TICKLE TOUCHES, THEY'RE SCARED, THEY'RE BAD.
NOW, HERE'S A RULING SYSTEM I STILL.
I'VE TAKEN ALL OF RULES OF THE WORLD
AND I PUT THEM IN FOUR CATEGORIES.
OK. THE FIRST PREMISE OF THIS RULE SYSTEM IS IF YOU WANT
TO HAVE A CIVILIZED SOCIETY, YOU CAN'T HAVE REALLY BAD THINGS
LIKE KILLING PEOPLE, STEALING STUFF, BURNING DOWN BUILDINGS,
YOU KNOW CHAOS IN THE STREETS.
YOU SEE WHEN I TALK ABOUT THOSE THINGS I SEE PICTURES, YOU KNOW
AND WHEN I SEE CHAOS IN THE STREET, A BUNCH OF PEOPLE
OUT THERE RIOTING AND LIGHT STUFF ON FIRE.
YOU GOT TO CONTROL IT.
THEN YOU NEED TO COURTESY RULES.
EVERY SOCIETY HAS COURTESY RULES AND THE INTERESTING THING IS,
WHEN I FIRST DEVELOPED THIS LIST I WAS IN HIGH SCHOOL.
I DIDN'T HAVE THE COURTESY RULES IN THERE
BECAUSE THEY WERE POUNDED IT IN TO ME SO HARD
WHEN I WAS A LITTLE KID.
WELL I DIDN'T EVEN THINK OF THEM AS A CATEGORY.
I ACTUALLY PUT THOSE IN LATER WHEN I STARTED SEEING, YOU KNOW,
WE GET THE GENERATIONAL THING THERE.
THEN YOU GOT TO HAVE A PLACE WHERE YOU CAN START
TO BREAK SOME RULES, THE ILLEGAL BUT NOT BAD.
I'LL TELL YOU SOME PLACES TO BREAK RULES
WITH STUPID BUREAUCRATIC STUFF IN THE EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM,
YOU KNOW, LIKE MAYBE KIDS 15 TOO YOUNG TO GO
TO COMMUNITY COLLEGE, THEY GO SIGN THEM UP ANYWAY.
SO ONCE HE'S BIG ENOUGH SO YOU CAN PASS HIM OFF AS--
THEY'D SIGN THEM UP ANYWAY.
THAT'S A KIND OF RULES YOU PLAY.
BUT HE BETTER NOT INTERRUPT ANY CLASSES,
HE BETTER REALIZES THIS IS A GROWN PRIVILEGE.
ONE OF THE THINGS I WAS ABLE TO RISE TO THE OCCASION
OF A GROWN UP PRIVILEGE.
WHEN I WAS A LITTLE KID,
I WAS TAKEN OUT IN SOME VERY NICE RESTAURANTS,
THE FINEST RESTAURANTS AND I BEHAVED.
BECAUSE I LIKED FINE RESTAURANTS AND IF I MISBEHAVE WASN'T GOING
TO BE ABLE TO GO, YOU KNOW, IT'S JUST THAT SIMPLE.
AND THIS PLACES IS LITTLE QUIET PLACES.
THE REALLY GOOD RESTAURANTS AREN'T NOISY
AND THEY WEREN'T THE NOISY PLACES.
THEN THERE'S RULES LIKE ALL THE SINS OF THE SYSTEM.
THEY'RE VERY VARIABLE FROM ONE SOCIETY TO ANOTHER.
AND IF YOU BREAK THESE RULES, THE PENALTIES ARE DRASTIC.
SOME LITTLE SEXUAL TRANSGRESSION HERE I'LL GET YOU
ON A SEX OFFENDER LIST FOR THE REST
OF YOUR LIFE AND WRECK YOUR LIFE.
YOU'LL BE NOTHING IF YOU DID IT OVER EUROPE.
YOU DON'T TOUCH THE SINS OF THE SYSTEM.
I FIGURED THIS OUT IN HIGH SCHOOL.
WHEN I WAS IN HIGH SCHOOL IN A BOARDING SCHOOL,
THERE WERE THREE SINS OF THE SYSTEM,
SMOKING, DRINKING AND SEX.
AND I FOUND IF I GAVE UP THOSE, THEY KNEW THEY CAN TRUST ME
ON THOSE, THEY LET ME DO LOTS OF THE ILLEGALS
BUT NOT BAD IF WASN'T TOO--
[ LAUGHTER ]
IF I JUST WASN'T TOO BLAMED
ABOUT IT I COULD GET AWAY WITH IT.
EINSTEIN TODAY WOULD DEFINITELY BE LABELED OUT AN AUTISTIC.
THEY GET CONCERNED WHAT WOULD HAPPEN
TO A GUY LIKE EINSTEIN TODAY.
DID YOU KNOW THAT WHEN HE WROTE THE MOST IMPORTANT PAPER EVER
WRITTEN IN PHYSICS HE WAS A PATENT CLERK,
HE WASN'T A BIG PROFESSOR, HE WAS A PATENT CLERK.
CAN A PATENT CLERK GET A PAPER PUBLISHED TODAY
IN THE PHYSICS JOURNAL?
I DON'T KNOW.
NOW, THERE'S TWO REALLY GOOD BOOKS
OUT ABOUT FAMOUS SCIENTISTS AND MUSICIANS
THAT PROBABLY WERE ASPERGER'S.
ONE OF THEM IS ASPERGER'S AND SELF-ESTEEM
AND THE OTHER ONE IS CALLED GENIUS GENES, YOU CAN BUY THEM
ON AMAZON.COM AND THESE ARE GREAT BOOKS TO GIVE
TO A SMART ASPERGER STUDENT IS BEING TORTURED
AND TEASED IN HIGH SCHOOL.
AND YOU CAN SEE THAT HE'S GOT A LOT OF FAMOUS COMPANIES THERE.
WELL, THIS IS THE NASA SATELLITE ASSEMBLY BUILDING.
AND I LIKE TO CALL IT THAT WORLD BIGGEST SHORED WORKSHOP
FOR THE SOCIALLY CHALLENGED.
[ LAUGHTER ]
AND THERE'S LOTS OF THESE SHORED WORKSHOPS IN SILICON VALLEY.
WE NEED TO BE GETTING THESE KIDS INTO THESE THINGS
BECAUSE I DO A LOT OF TRAVELING AROUND AND I DO A TALK
IN A REAL TECH AREA, OH THERE'S ASPIES EVERYWHERE.
THEY'RE JUST GETTING PULLED IN TO THIS-- INTO THIS INDUSTRY.
I GET THE MOST HITS ON MY WEBPAGE FROM THE TECH CITIES.
I CAN'T TRACK USERS 'CAUSE I DON'T MAKE YOU LOG ON.
BUT I CAN JUST TRACK CITIES, I FINALLY FIGURED
OUT THE PLAIN OLD TEXAS--
I CAN'T FIGURE OUT WHY PLAIN TEXAS WAS ON MY TOP 10.
IT'S WHERE TEXAS INSTRUMENTS IS.
AND THEN OF COURSE THIS REDMOND WASHINGTON,
AND THEN OF COURSER THERE'S MARINA DEL REY HERE THAT'S
STANFORD AREA.
HOW DO-- WE NEED TO BE WORKING A LOT MORE ON CAREER DEVELOPMENT.
WE'RE NOT DOING ENOUGH ON THIS.
I HAVE A LITTLE BOOK CALLED DEVELOPING TALENTS WHICH IS JUST
ON CAREER DEVELOPMENT.
WE NEED TEENAGERS AND START TEACHING WORK SKILLS.
YOU GOT TO LEARN, YOU GOT TO DO WHAT THE BOSS WANTS.
YOU GOT TO BE ON TIME, YOU KNOW, MENTORS ARE EXTREMELY IMPORTANT.
MOST OF THE PEOPLE ON THE SPECTRUM HAVE BEEN SUCCESSFUL,
THERE'S BEEN A PROFESSOR OR PARENT OR SOMEBODY THAT'S KIND
OF APPRENTICE TO KID INTO A DIFFERENT--
INTO THE DIFFERENT FIELDS.
YOU GOT TO TAKE KIDS OUT
AND SHOW THEM INTERESTING WORK PLACES.
THEY BRING IN TRADE MAGAZINE FROM ALL THE DIFFERENT--
ALL THE DIFFERENT KINDS OF BUSINESS
AND ALL THE DIFFERENT KINDS OF JOBS.
ALSO, THEY WAY I SOLD MY FREELANCE DESIGN WORK WAS
IN A PORTFOLIO.
I HAD TO SELL MY WORK NOT MY SELF.
WE NEED TO SHORT CIRCUIT THE HR INTERVIEW PROCESS
AND GET A PORTFOLIO OF WORK TO THE PEOPLE
THAT WILL REALLY WOULD APPRECIATE.
AND DON'T PUT TOO MUCH JUNK IN THAT PORTFOLIO,
MAKE SURE IT'S REALLY NEAT FOUR OR FIVE PAGES OF LIKE WOW STUFF
AND THE OTHER THING YOU BETTER HAVE IS COMPLETE
CONTACT INFORMATION.
AND DON'T SEND EMAIL ATTACHMENTS,
PEOPLE DON'T OPEN THEM.
I'M ABSOLUTELY APPALLED AT THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE THAT WRITE
TO ME, EMAIL ME CALL ME AND THEY DO NOT HAVE COMPLETE
CONTACT INFORMATION.
IT'S JUST-- THEN THEY WONDER WHY I DON'T CONTACT THEM.
OK. THIS IS A TYPICAL FAMILY HISTORY.
THE TRAIT SHOW UP IN THE FAMILY HISTORIES.
AUTISM IS A CONTINUUM OF TRAITS.
THERE'S NO SIMPLE GENETICS FOR AUTISM IT'S DEFINITELY GENETIC
BUT IT'S NOT SIMPLE GENETICS.
MOTHER SIDE OF THE FAMILY, MIT TRAINED ENGINEER CO-INVENTOR
OF THE AUTOMATIC PILOT FOR AIRPLANES
AND IN FACT THERE'S TWO AND A HALF TIMES AS MANY ENGINEERS
IN THE FAMILY HISTORY OF PEOPLE WITH AUTISM.
AND WE GOT ANXIETY AND DEPRESSION ON BOTH SIDES
OF THE FAMILY, THAT GOES WITH THE TERRITORY.
WE'VE GOT THE NON-VISUAL THINKERS THEY WERE ALL BANKERS
ON MY FATHER SIDE OF THE FAMILY.
FOOD ALLERGIES AND WE'VE GOT ASPERGER TRAITS,
OF COURSE ALL UNDIAGNOSED.
OK. EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES FOR TEENAGERS GETTING TORTURED
IN SCHOOL LOT OF THE GREAT TEACHERS ARE
AT THE COMMUNITY COLLEGE 'CAUSE THEY DON'T HAVE
TO HAVE A TEACHING CERTIFICATE.
THEY TEACH CHEMISTRY, THEY JUST NEED TO HAVE A DEGREE
IN CHEMISTRY AND APPALL THAT THEY LACK SCIENCE TEACHERS
IN THE LOT OF THE HIGH SCHOOLS,
BUT THOSE GREAT SCIENCE TEACHES ARE
AT YOUR LOCAL COMMUNITY COLLEGE.
THERE'S ALL KINDS OF WONDERFUL CAREER STUFF,
HEY LOOK AT THEIR CATALOGUE
FOR COMMUNITY COLLEGES IT'S LIKE WOW.
YOU KNOW, TECHNICAL SCHOOLS, LOT OF HIGH SCHOOLS HAVE TAKEN
OUT DRAFTING, WELDING, AUTO MECHANICS.
WELL, FOR A LOT OF KIDS THESE ARE REALLY GREAT JOBS
AND THEY'RE NOT GOING TO GET OUTSOURCED.
ONLINE LEARNING, LOT OF RUBBISH BUT ALSO A LOT
OF REALLY GOOD STUFF, MAKE SURE IF YOU'RE DOING ONLINE LEARNING
THAT YOU DO WITH AN ACCREDITED UNIVERSITY AND THEN
OF COURSE UNIVERSITY COURSES.
MAYBE THAT BORED HIGH SCHOOL KID OUGHT TO BE OVER HERE.
WE DON'T TELL THE REGISTRAR
OR ANYTHING JUST SIGN THEM UP, SIGN THEM UP.
NOW, THERE'S THE MEAT PLANT
WHERE I FIRST STARTED MY CAREER, HOW DID I GET IN?
I MET THE WIFE OF THEIR INSURANCE AGENT.
YOU NEVER KNOW WHO CAN GET YOU IN TO SOME PLACE.
DON'T LOOK FOR THE BACK DOOR.
NOW, WHEN KIDS TEASED ME WHEN I WAS IN HIGH SCHOOL I RESPONDED
BY THROWING A BOOK AND I GOT KICKED
OUT OF JUNIOR HIGH FOR THAT.
YOU KNOW ACTUALLY IT WAS NINTH GRADE I GUESS THAT'S
THAT FIRST YEAR OF HIGH SCHOOL.
AND I HAD TO SWITCH ANGER TO CRYING
AND BECAUSE I HAVEN'T DONE THAT, I WOULD HAVE LOST MY CAREER.
LIKE IN THE MEAT INDUSTRY DOES ZERO TOLERANCE FOR ANGER,
ZERO TOLERANCE IN THE MEAT INDUSTRY.
YOU HIT SOMEBODY IN THE MEAT INDUSTRY YOU'RE FIRED, PERIOD,
PERIOD, KICKED OUT OF THE INDUSTRY,
BECAUSE EVERYBODY HAS KNIVES, IRONCLAD RULE.
ABSOLUTE IRONCLAD RULE, ANGER IS NOT TOLERATED, YOU KNOW,
ANYTHING BEYOND YELLING IS--
THERE'S A ZERO TOLERANCE AT MEAT PLANS, ALWAYS BEEN THAT WAY.
SO, I SWITCHED TO CRYING AND I'VE HAD SOME PARENTS COMPLAIN
THAT TEENAGE BOY CRIES, BE THANKFUL HE CRIES,
BECAUSE THEN HE WON'T HIT OR THROW THINGS
OR BREAK THE DOOR, BREAK THE WALL.
LET'S LOOK AT JOBS FOR THE VISUAL THINKERS.
THESE JOB LISTS ARE IN THE DEVELOPING TALENT BOOK,
DRAFTING, AUTO MECHANICS, YOU KNOW, COMPUTER NETWORK,
YOU KNOW, COMPUTER HARDWARE MORE IN PROGRAMMING,
DOING COMPUTER HARDWARE, ANIMAL TRAINER,
PHOTOGRAPHERS, REPAIRING COMPUTERS.
AND THEN LET'S SAY IN THE FUTURE I MEAN NOW, WE'RE GOING TO--
WE HAVE ALSO BABY BOOMERS, THEY'RE GOING TO NEED LOTS
OF MEDICAL STUFF, HOW ABOUT FIXING MEDICAL EQUIPMENT.
SOMEBODY'S GOT TO KEEP THESE MRI MACHINES GOING.
THE NORMAL PEOPLE AREN'T GOING TO WANT--
BE BOTHERED DOING THAT.
THE [INAUDIBLE] LOOK AT THE JOBS THAT CAN USED THOSE AREAS
OF STRENGTH, HOW ABOUT OUR PATTERN THINKERS, SOME MUSIC
AND MATH THINKERS, ALL KINDS OF SCIENCE JOBS,
ENGINEERING JOBS, COMPUTER PROGRAMMING.
NOW, A LOT OF COMPUTER PROGRAMMING THINGS GET
OUTSOURCED, BUT THERE'S A LOT OF SPECIALIZE THINGS HERE
IN SILICON VALLEY,
VERY SPECIALIZE THINGS, THEY'RE HIRING.
AS PART OF THE COUNTRY YOU CAN GET IN TO THAT,
OUT IN THE MIDWEST YOU'RE PROBABLY GOING TO GET OUTSOURCED
BECAUSE THEY, YOU KNOW, THE RULE SIMPLE CODING THAT'S
GETTING OUTSOURCED.
WE HAVE MUSICIANS, STATISTICIAN,
BANKS HAVE THIS THING CALLED QUANTS
THAT THEY USE FOR PICKING STOCKS.
I DON'T HAVE ANY IDEA HOW IT WORKS.
IT'S ALL DONE BY COMPUTERS.
WELL, MOST PEOPLE ARE PROBABLY ON THE SPECTRUM.
OK. HOW ABOUT THE VERBAL GUYS, ALL WORDS.
JOURNALISM WOULD BE A GOOD JOB FOR SOME OF THESE PEOPLE,
TRANSLATORS, ACCOUNTING JOBS, SPECIAL EDUCATION TEACHER,
SPEECH THERAPIST LOTS OF RECORD KEEPING KINDS OF JOBS,
ARCHIVING KINDS OF JOBS.
WE GOT TO BE THINKING
ABOUT WHAT'S THIS KID GOING TO BE ABLE TO DO.
AND WHEN THEY'RE IN COLLEGE, THEY NEED TO BE INTERNING
IN CAREER-RELATED THINGS AND I DID THIS.
I WORKED IN A RESEARCH LAB ONE SUMMER, I WORKED AT A HOSPITAL
FOR AN SHOWROOM ONE SUMMER THOSE ARE VERY GOOD EXPERIENCES.
WHEN I WAS 14 YEARS OLD I WORKED
FOR DRESSMAKER I'M JUST DOING HAND SEWING FOR HER.
YOU KNOW, THESE WERE VERY GOOD WORK TRAINING EXPERIENCES.
BAD JOBS, MULTITASKING, CAN NOT DO MULTITASKING.
A LOT OF THE JOBS ARE THE ENTRY LEVEL JOBS.
WAITRESS IN A BUSY RESTAURANT, I'LL BE FIRED.
CASHIER IN A REAL SUPER BUSY PLACE, I MIGHT BE ABLE
TO DO IT NOW, BECAUSE THE MACHINES ARE SO ELECTRONIC NOW,
THEY MAKE THE CHANGE AND EVERYTHING.
YEAH, YOU JUST HAVE TO SCAN THE GROCERIES I PROBABLY COULD
DO THAT.
OLD FASHIONED CASH REGISTER, WELL, I WOULD HAVE BEEN FIRED.
MY CASH DRAWER WOULD HAVE NEVER BALANCED.
IT WOULD HAVE JUST BEEN A MESS.
I JUST DON'T HAVE VERY MUCH WORKING MEMORY.
AND I ALSO CAN'T REMEMBER LONG STRINGS OF VERBAL INFORMATION.
IF THERE'S MORE THAN FREE STEPS I HAVE TO AVOID IT DOWN.
I HATE THESE CELLPHONES WHERE ONE BUTTON HAS
LIKE FIVE DIFFERENT FUNCTIONS, I CAN'T REMEMBER THAT.
I JUST HATE IT, THROW THEM AGAINST THE WALL.
OK. HOW ABOUT PEOPLE WHO HAVE POOR VERBAL SKILLS?
AGAIN FIND AREAS THINGS THEY LIKE TO DO.
THERE'S A LOT OF JOBS YOU KNOW, WORKING IN STORES,
RESTOCKING SHELVES, INVENTORY.
YOU KNOW, YOU HAVE TO TAKE A LITTLE LASER THING AROUND
AND YOU GOT TO DO IT ON ALL THE MERCHANDISE.
THEY'RE NOT GOING TO OUTSOURCE THAT ONE SOMEBODY'S GOT
TO PHYSICALLY GO ON THE STORE, PUT THE SCANNER ON EVERY BIT
OF MERCHANDISE SO I CAN FIGURE
OUT HOW MUCH SHOPLIFTING IS GOING ON.
NO I'M SERIOUS THEY-- THAT'S THE ONLY WAY THEY CAN FIGURE
OUT WHAT THEY CALL SHRINKAGE.
SOMEBODY HAS TO PHYSICALLY TAKE THE WAND AND SCAN ALL THE STUFF.
YOU KNOW THAT HAS TO BE DONE ONCE A MONTH.
THERE'S A LADY NAMED MARCIE DATLOW SMITH
AND SHE HAS A VERY GOOD BOOK ON JOBS FOR SOME OF THE MORE,
YOU KNOW, SEVERE TYPES OF AUTISM.
OK. THERE'S A GORGEOUS PHOTOGRAPH
THAT SOMEBODY ON THE SPECTRUM MADE.
NO PHOTOSHOP HERE.
WE GOT TO WORK ON HOW, HOW CAN WE GET SOME OF THESE WORK SOLD.
YOU KNOW THIS IS PROFESSIONAL QUALITY WORK.
LET'S TALK ABOUT SOME MEDICATION THINGS.
I WANT TO TRY TO GET YOU
TO THINK LOGICALLY ABOUT TREATMENTS.
EVERY CASE IS DIFFERENT WHAT WORKS FOR ONE,
DOESN'T WORK FOR ANOTHER.
I HAVE ALL THIS PROBLEM WITH THE FEAR STUFF
AND THE PANIC ATTACKS.
OTHER PEOPLE THAT HAS ASPERGER'S DON'T HAVE THIS.
IT'S VERY, VERY TERRIBLE.
I'VE KIND OF FOUND THAT VISUAL THINKERS TEND
TO REALLY GET INTO THE FEAR THING.
AND THE WORD THINKERS TEND TO BE CALM BUT I CAN'T PROVE THAT.
IT'S JUST SORT OF SOMETHING I OBSERVED OVER THE YEARS.
HOW DO YOU EVALUATE A TREATMENT OF DRUG
OR ABA OR WHATEVER IT IS?
THE FIRST THING ESPECIALLY WITH DRUGS IS WORSE VERSUS BENEFIT.
TO MAKE IT WORTH THE RISK, IT BETTER HAVE A BIG,
WOW THIS LITTLE WORKS.
YOU CAN LOOK AT THINGS LIKE COST VERSUS BENEFIT.
I MEAN THERE'S SOME EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS OUT THERE THAT'S
SUCH A RIP OFF, IT'S JUST SO EXPENSIVE, IT'S LIKE CRAZY.
AND THEN, EVIDENCE OF EFFECTIVENESS.
NOW OF COURSE I WOULD MUCH PREFER
TO HAVE SCIENTIFIC JOURNAL ARTICLES YOU KNOW,
THE PLACEBO CONTROLLED DOUBLE BLIND STUDIES,
THOSE ARE THE BEST.
BUT THE PROBLEM WE'VE GOT ON THE AUTISM SPECTRUM IS IT'S
SO VARIABLE ESPECIALLY WHEN WE'RE DEALING
WITH SOME OTHER THINGS LIKE THE SPECIAL DIETS.
YOU TAKE 20 SUBJECTS IT ONLY IS GOING TO WORK ON TWO,
BUT REALLY WORK ON THOSE TWO.
OK. NOW, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE GO, OH,
WE TESTED THAT DIET, IT DOESN'T WORK.
WELL, I NOTICED ANECDOTALLY THERE'S PEOPLE
WHERE THOSE DIETS WORK.
AND SO I DO ALL THE THINGS I DO OTHER THING
FOR MY ANECDOTAL EVIDENCE.
THREE FAMILIES THAT CONVINCED ME IT WORKS
THAT THEY DIDN'T START SOMETHING ELSE AT THE SAME TIME.
I'LL GIVE YOU A LITTLE STATISTICS LESSON.
WHAT SIDE DOES PAPER SAYS THE DIET DOESN'T WORK
OR SOMETHING DOESN'T WORK.
LOOK AT YOUR, YOU KNOW, VARIABILITY OF THE DATA,
YOUR STANDARD THERE AS THE MEAN,
YOUR LITTLE ARROW BARS ON THE GRAPHS.
IF THE VARIABILITY OF THE DATA IS DOUBLE
IN THE EXPERIMENTAL GROUP THAN IN THE CONTROL GROUP,
SOMEBODY IS IN THERE IS RESPONDING.
IT'S JUST THAT SOMETHING.
LET ME CALL THESE LITTLE ARROW BAR LINES.
ALL THE TWICE AS BIG IN THE EXPERIMENTAL GROUP
THAT TELLS YOU SOMETHING.
OK. LET'S SAY YOU HAVE A NON-VERBAL PERSON
AND THEY GOT A SEVERE BEHAVIOR THEN GOOD NOW THEY'RE--
HAVING ALL THESE NOTE
DOWN SAYING HITTING PEOPLE OR WHATEVER.
THE FIRST THING YOU GOT TO DO IS RULE
OUT A HIDDEN PAINFUL MEDICAL PROBLEM.
IT'S NOT THERE THEN I CAN'T TELL YOU.
BIG NUMBER ONE IS ACID REFLUX, [INAUDIBLE] AND THEN BEND THEM
OVER BECAUSE THE ACID IS COMING UP HERE
AND BURN UP THEIR ESOPHAGUS.
OK ACID REFLUX, THAT'S NOT A VERY EASY WAY TO GET RID OF IT.
YOU DON'T WANT IT GET TOO BAD.
GET THE HEAD OF YOUR BED UP SO THE ACID STAYS IN THE STOMACH
AND DO NOT LAY DOWN UNTIL HALF AN HOUR AFTER EATING.
THE YOU KNOW, LET YOUR FOOD GET A LITTLE DIGESTED BEFORE YOU
LIE DOWN.
HOW ABOUT TOOTH ACHES, EAR ACHES, CONSTIPATION,
URINARY TRACT INFECTION, I MEAN YOU GOT TO RULE
OUT ALL THAT KIND OF STUFF.
THE NEXT THING, IT MIGHT BE SENSORY.
OR MAYBE IT'S THE FEAR OF GETTING BLASTED.
THE SMOKE ALARM WENT OFF LAST WEEK IN THAT ROOM.
SO NOW THIS GUY KNOWS ABOUT SMOKE ALARMS GOING ON.
SO NOW EVERY TIME HE SEES ONE HE'S THROWING A FIT.
BECAUSE HE'S AFRAID IT'S GOING TO OFF AND BLOW OUT HIS EARS.
IT CAN BE JUST OF FEAR OR MAYBE A MICROPHONE FEEDBACK
AND SCREECHED.
SO NOW HE SEES A MICROPHONE AND HE'S AFRAID OF IT.
OR IT MIGHT PURELY OUT OF BEHAVIOR REASON,
YOU KNOW THEN YOU DO CALMING SENSORY METHODS.
THEN HE MIGHT NEED SOME MEDICATION.
THE BIG MISTAKE THAT PEOPLE MAKE
WITH MEDICATION IS EVERY TIME THERE'S SOME SETBACK
OR SOME LITTLE MELTDOWN, THEY'RE GIVING HIM A WHOLE BUNCH MORE
OF DRUGS.
IT'S LIKE EVERY TIME THERE'S PROBLEM THEY JUST--
ANOTHER DRUG UP THE DOSE, UP THE DOSE.
AND LIKE THEY'RE ON EIGHT OR NINE DIFFERENT THINGS
LIKE CRAZY, IT'S NOT EVEN LOGICAL.
YOU GOT TO THINK LOGICALLY ABOUT WHAT YOU'RE DOING.
YOU TRY A DRUG, I MEAN, DON'T TRY IT
AT THE SAME TIME YOU START A DIET OR A NEW SCHOOL.
YOU KNOW AT LEAST HAVE A FEW WEEKS IN BETWEEN THERE.
OK NOW, WHAT DID IT DO?
AND A GOOD RULE OF THUMB IS YOU'RE USING DRUGS FOR BEHAVIOR.
YOU'RE NOT USING IT TO TREAT EPILEPSY OR SOME OTHER,
YOU KNOW, MEDICAL PROBLEM.
THERE SHOULD BE SOME WOW FACTOR.
OH, HE WENT FROM AN-- A FIVE-- THIS I'M TELLING, YOU KNOW,
I'M NOT TALKING ABOUT TWO-YEAR-OLD HERE,
BUT LETS SAY A 12-YEAR-OLD KID.
HE WENT FROM FIVE TANTRUMS A DAY TO ONE EVERY TWO WEEKS.
YUP. THAT PROBABLY BE SOME WOW FACTOR.
BUT THAT'S THE KIND OF, YOU KNOW, THING YOU WANT.
YOU DON'T GIVE POWERFUL MEDICATIONS
TO MAKE HIM A TEENSY LITTLE BIT, HIGH-- LESS HYPER.
THAT'S NOT ENOUGH OF A BENEFIT TO MAKE IT WORTH THE RISK.
OK. HERE ARE PURELY BEHAVIORAL REASONS
FOR MAYBE A NON-VERBAL MISBEHAVING,
FRUSTRATED BECAUSE HE CAN'T COMMUNICATE, GETTING ATTENTION
OR GETTING OUT AND DOING SOMETHING,
THOSE ARE YOUR THREE MAIN MOTIVATIONS.
BEHAVIOR CONSULTANTS ARE REALLY GOOD AT FIGURING THAT OUT.
OK. LET'S JUST GO THROUGH SOME OF THE MEDICATIONS.
I LIKE TO USE THE MILITARY ANALOGY.
AND WE GOT LIGHT WEAPONS AND WE GOT HEAVY WEAPONS.
MAYBE THAT'S NOT POLITICALLY CORRECT BUT IT'S AN EASY WAY
FOR ME TO THINK ABOUT IT.
NOW, PROZAC AND DRUGS CALLED SSRIS, SEROTONIN
AND REUPTAKE INHIBITORS, THEY ARE LIGHT WEAPONS.
THEY GOT LESS SIDE EFFECTS THAN SOME
OF THE DRUGS I CALL HEAVY WEAPONS.
NOW THAT WERE-- ALL THE DRUGS ON THIS LIST REALLY WORK WELL
FOR IS ANXIETY, STOPPING A FEAR, STOPPING THE PANIC ATTACKS
AND ALL THE ANXIETY AND THE OCD
AND THE OBSESSIVE COMPULSIVE DISORDER.
AND IN THIS CLASS, YOU GOT PROZAC, ZOLOFT, CELEXA, LEXAPRO
AND PAXIL AND THE SCIENTIFIC NAMES ARE UP THERE.
AND IT'S IN-- THIS IS ALL UPDATED IN MY BOOK THINKING
IN PICTURES, EXPANDED EDITION.
IT CAME OUT 2006.
NOW THE THING WITH THESE DRUGS IS YOU GOT
TO GIVE A REALLY SMALL DOSE.
PEOPLE ON THE SPECTRUM OFTEN NEED ONLY ONE-FOURTH
TO ONE-HALF STARTER DOSE.
THAT'S ALL THEY NEED.
I'VE HAD PROBABLY A HUNDRED PARENTS SAY TO ME,
DID GREAT ON A LITTLE DOSE, WENT BERSERK ON A HIGHER DOSE.
SO OF YOU OVERDOSE THEM, YOU'RE GOING TO GET INSOMNIA
AND AGITATION LIKE PUFFY NOSE.
AND IF YOU LOOK AT THE, YOU KNOW, PROZAC,
IT'S ALL UP TO GENERIC NOW.
YOU CAN GET PROZAC AT WALMART NOW FOR 4 BUCKS A MONTH.
LEXAPRO AND CELEXA ARE STILL ON PATENT,
SOMETIMES THE PROZAC WEARS OFF.
LEXAPRO WORKS REALLY WELL.
THEN YOU GET INTO A HOW DO YOU PICK OUT WHICH ONE TO USE?
DON'T TRY SOMETHING A BLOOD RELATIVE HATED.
TRY SOMETHING MAYBE A BLOOD RELATIVE ACTUALLY LIKED.
YOU SEE THERE ISN'T ANY SUPER SCIENTIFIC WAY
TO FIGURE OUT WHICH ONE TO USE.
MAYBE, THEY'LL USE THE ONE WHERE THE DRUG SALESMEN COME AROUND
AND GIVING THEM PENS AND OH MAN,
I WENT INTO THE NOSE DOCTOR WHEN I BROKE MY NOSE.
SOME COMPANY WAS MAKING NO ALLERGY MEDICINE,
THEY HAD A CAKE IN THERE.
THEY HAD CHINES TAKE-OUT,
THE CAKE WITH THE NAME OF A DRUG ON IT.
THERE WAS PENS AND COFFEE CUPS AND I WAS LIKE--
I'M LIKE GOING, LOOK, YOU KNOW, WHAT'S SCIENTIFIC ABOUT THAT?
THEY'RE GIVING
OUT A JILLIAN-FREE SAMPLES OF THE STUFF.
YOU KNOW, THAT'S NOT, YOU KNOW, LOGICAL OR SCIENCE.
OK. THESE ARE THE HEAVY ARTILLERY
AND THESE ARE THE ATYPICALS ORIGINALLY DEVELOPED
FOR SCHIZOPHRENIA.
AND THERE'S A LOT OF THIS THING GIVEN OUT WAY TOO CASUALLY.
THEY HAVE MUCH MORE SEVERE SIDE EFFECTS.
THE FIRST REALLY SEVERE SIDE EFFECT IS WEIGHT GAIN.
YOU CAN NOT LET A KID GET 100 POUNDS OF WEIGHT GAIN.
YOU ABSOLUTELY CAN NOT LET THAT HAPPEN.
IN SOME KIDS, THEY STIMULATE APPETITE.
THE OTHER SIDE EFFECT IS TARDIVE DYSKINESIA
WHICH WAS THE SHAKING, THE KIND OF PALSY THING.
AND ALL THESE DRUGS ARE STILL PATENTED.
YOU SEE, DRUG COMPANIES DON'T CARE
ABOUT SELLING PROZAC BECAUSE IT'S GENERIC.
THEY DON'T CARE ABOUT THE DRUGS IN THE WALMART PHARMACY.
THERE'S A LOT OF GOOD DRUGS THERE, A LOT OF OLD STUFF
THAT REALLY WORKS REALLY WELL.
THEY WANT TO SELL THE NEW STUFF
BECAUSE THEY MAKE MORE MONEY ON THEM.
JUST TO BEHIND SOME OF THE BUSINESS STUFF AND SOME
OF THIS IS BEING GIVEN OUT WHEN MAYBE A LITTLE DAB OF PROZAC
OR ZOLOFT OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT WOULD WORK BETTER AND BE SAFER.
NOW WHAT THE SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH SHOWS ON THE ATYPICALS
AND AUTISM IS ESPECIALLY RISPERDAL.
IT'S VERY EFFECTIVE FOR VERY SEVERE AGGRESSION,
OLDER CHILDREN AND ADULTS, EXTREMELY EFFECTIVE FOR THEM.
TINY DOSES AGAIN USE LITTLE TINY DOSES.
DON'T GIVE THEM TOO MUCH.
WHAT ABOUT THE WEIGHT GAIN THING, YOU KNOW, DO A LITTLE BIT
OF THE SORT OF, YOU KNOW, CUT OUT A LOT OF THE BIG CARBS
THAT WILL HELP ON CUTTING DOWN ON THE APPETITE DROP
BUT YOU CAN NOT LET THEM GET FAT ON THIS STUFF.
YOU JUST CAN'T.
THAT'S A HORRENDOUS SIDE EFFECT.
A LOW DOSE PRINCIPLE APPLIES TO THESE THREE CLASSES, THE SSRIS,
TRICYCLICS, IT'S THE OLD STUFF I TAKE AND THE ATYPICALS,
THINGS LIKE RISPERDAL AND GEODON AND SEROQUEL OR ABILIFY,
YOU KNOW, SOME OF THOSE DRUGS.
ANOTHER THING IS LIKE MY DRUG THAT I'M ON,
NOW IS A GIGANTIC BLACK BOX WARNING ABOUT CARDIAC PROBLEMS.
YOU KNOW, SO MOST DOCTORS DON'T WANT TO START NEW PATIENTS ON IT
BECAUSE PROBLEMS WITH THE HEART.
WELL, I'VE BEEN ON IT 25 YEARS AND, YOU KNOW,
IT'S GOT A BLACK BOX AND STILL I WANT TO KEEP TAKING IT.
SO THIS BRINGS UP ANOTHER THING.
LET'S SAY, YOU'RE REALLY NICE AND STABLE ON A DRUG,
BEEN ON IT MAYBE FIVE YEARS.
YOU'RE DOING GREAT.
AND YOU READ BAD STUFF ON THE NEWSPAPER ABOUT THIS DRUG.
I WON'T EVEN PAY ATTENTION TO THEM.
IT'S GOING TO DO SOMETHING BAD IT WOULD HAVE DONE IT BY NOW.
I'VE SEEN TOO MANY DISASTERS WHERE SOMEONE'S BEEN
ON A REASONABLE DOSE OF SOMETHING OLD.
THEY TRIED TO CHANGE IT AND IT'S A REAL MESS.
IF IT AIN'T BROKE, DON'T FIX IT.
I CAN NOT EMPHASIZE THAT ENOUGH.
I'VE BEEN ON MY STUFF FOR 25 YEARS, CAN I GET OFF IT?
YOU KNOW WHAT?
THERE'S NOT A SINGLE SCIENTIFIC PAPER THAT I CAN FIND ON HOW
TO GET PEOPLE LIKE ME OFF OF DRUGS
WHEN THEY'RE LIKE 60 YEARS OLD.
I DON'T KNOW.
I DON'T DARE STOP TAKING IT.
IF SOMEBODY GETS A PAPER ON THAT,
I'D LIKE TO HAVE IT, PLEASE.
OH, NOT JUST THE ABSTRACT, YOU GIVE ME THE WHOLE PAPER.
I WANT TO READ IT.
YOU KNOW, I DON'T DARE STOP TAKING IT.
I'VE BEEN ON IT FOR 25 YEARS.
I'VE BEEN STABLE.
OK. HERE IS SOME PRINCIPLES OF USING MEDICATION
OR SUPPLEMENTS FOR THAT MATTER.
NOW, ONE OF THE MOST--
ONE OF THE THINGS ON THE ALTERNATIVE THINGS
THAT REALLY HELPS A LOT OF PEOPLE ARE THE DIETS.
AND THERE'S A DAIRY-FREE AND A WHEAT-FREE DIET
AND THEN OTHER ONE IS CALLED SPECIFIC CARBOHYDRATE.
AND BASICALLY WHAT THAT IS, YOU TAKE ALL THE GRAINS OUT.
IF IT'S A GRAIN, YOU TAKE THAT OUT.
AND POTATO, YOU TAKE OUT ALL THE COMPLEX CARBS.
HAD A YEAST INFECTION I'M KIND OF DOING A MODIFIED VERSION
OF THAT AND IF WORKS FOR ME.
IF A DIET IS GOING TO WORK, IT WILL WORK WITHIN THREE MONTHS.
IF IT DOESN'T WORK WITHIN THREE MONTHS, IT'S NOT GOING TO WORK.
OK. WHETHER YOU'RE DOING A MEDICATION
OR YOU'RE DOING A SUPPLEMENT, TRY ONE THING AT A TIME.
YOU DON'T WANT TO BE TAKING TOO MUCH STUFF.
THAT'S RIDICULOUS HOW MUCH STUFF PEOPLE ARE TAKING.
YOU WANT TO FIGURE OUT WHAT ARE THE RELATIVELY FEW THINGS
THAT WORK.
A MEDICATION SHOULD HAVE AN OBVIOUS BENEFICIAL EFFECT.
AND IF IT DOESN'T, IT'S NOT WORTH THE RISK.
LET'S SAY YOU GOT SOMEBODY WHO'S A DRUG ZOMBIE.
THEY GOT THEM ON NINE DIFFERENT THINGS, GIANT DOSES.
YOU GOT TO GET THEM OFF TO SOME OF THIS GARBAGE.
YOU TAKE ONE OFF AT A TIME, SLOWLY, REALLY SLOWLY.
THE OTHER THING YOU GOT TO BE CAREFUL
ABOUT IS SWITCHING BRANDS.
THEY'RE NOT BIOEQUIVALENT.
I KNOW THAT'S JUST IN MY OWN TWO MEDICATIONS.
YOU KNOW IF YOU'RE ON A GENERIC WHITE PILL FROM WALGREENS
AND THEN STAY WITH THAT WHITE PILL FROM WALGREENS.
I SWITCHED TO A GENERIC.
IT DIDN'T WORK AS WELL.
NOW I ALSO HAD TO TAKE DYAZIDE FOR MY MENIERE'S DISEASE.
AND THE CHEAP DYAZIDE THAT OUR DISCOUNT SUPERMARKET SELLS
DOESN'T WORK AS WELL AS THE GENERIC DYAZIDE I GET
FROM THIS LITTLE SPECIALTY DRUGSTORE.
THERE'S A DIFFERENCE JUST ON MOST TWO DRUGS.
AND-- SO DON'T BE SWITCHING BRANDS AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
WHEN YOU FIND A BRAND THAT WORKS FOR YOU, YOU JUST STAY WITH IT
AND DON'T EXPECT ANY MEDICATION OR SUPPLEMENT
TO GIVE YOU 100 PERCENT CONTROL
OF SYMPTOMS 'CAUSE THAT'S JUST FLAT NOT GOING TO HAPPEN.
IF IT GETS 90 PERCENT CONTROL, THEY REALLY HAPPEN.
ALSO, MY ANXIETY ATTACKS WENT IN CYCLES.
THEY WERE WORST ON THE FALL, ON THE SPRING AND I HAD
TO JUST KIND OF TOUGH OUT THESE CYCLES.
NOW, THERE'S A DOCTOR
UP IN CANADA NAMED JO HUDGENS [ASSUMED SPELLING] AND HE WORKS
WITH THE REALLY SEVERE NON-VERBALS,
THE ONES THAT GET KICKED OUT OF GROUP HOMES.
AND HE HAS A THREE-DRUG PHARMACY.
A LITTLE BIT OF RISPERDAL, A LITTLE BIT
OF DEPAKOTE IT'S AN OLD-FASHIONED EPILEPSY DRUG
AND MAYBE A LITTLE BIT OF BETA-BLOCKERS.
AND HE USUALLY JUST USE THESE TWO OUT OF THE THREE.
DEPAKOTE, IT'S AN OLD EPILEPSY DRUG.
IT'S VERY EFFECTIVE FOR THE KIND OF RAGE WHERE IT'S VERY RANDOM.
RISPERDAL WORKS FOR, MAN I HATE THIS PERSON WITH THE BLONDE HAIR
AND I'M GOING TO JUST TAKE HER OUT.
THAT WORKS WELL FOR-- THAT WORKS WELL FOR-- I'M SORRY, I DIDN'T--
[ LAUGHTER ]
THAT'S DIRECTED RAGE.
THAT WORKS WELL FOR RISPERDAL WHERE DEPAKOTE WORKS.
IT'S LIKE THIS CONDITION IN DOGS CALLED SPRINGER RAGE WHERE FOR
LIKE ALMOST NO REASON AT ALL, I MEAN,
A DOG WILL JUST BITE YOU REALLY HARD.
YOU PULL HIM OUT OF THE GARBAGE AND HE
LIKE BITES YOU TO THE BONE.
THAT IT'S A CYCLE MOTOR EPILEPSY.
AND THE DEPAKOTE WORKS REALLY WELL.
THAT'S A VERY EFFECTIVE DRUG.
THERE'S A LOT OF SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH BUT YOU GOT
TO DO THESE BIG NASTY BLOOD TESTS OUT OF THE ARM.
YOU TAKE ANY ANTICONVULSANT OR EPILEPSY DRUG.
THEY'RE CALLED EPILEPSY DRUGS, ANTICONVULSANTS,
OR SEIZURE MEDS, ALL MEANS THE SAME THING.
AT LEAST TWO YEARS, YOU BETTER DO THREE BLOOD TESTS A YEAR
AT A YEAR TO MAKE SURE IT DOESN'T MESS UP THE LIVER.
YOU HAVE TO DO THEM.
WHERE WITH THE OTHER MEDICATIONS, YOU DON'T HAVE
TO THIS UGLY, NOT NICE, NEEDLE STICK IN THE ARM.
YOU KNOW BUT THIS IS A VERY EFFECTIVE DRUG BUT YOU DO HAVE
TO DO THOSE BLOOD TEST TO MAKE SURE YOU DON'T HAVE A GENETIC
THING WHERE IT CAN HURT YOUR LIVER.
NOW THIS IS AN OLD ONE.
THIS IS AN ANCIENT SLIDE.
I'VE HAD THIS SLIDE FOR LIKE 25 YEARS.
THE BETA-BLOCKERS ARE AN OLD, OLD FORGOTTEN DRUG.
THEY'RE USING THEM NOW TO TREAT POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER.
IT'S A BLOOD PRESSURE MEDS.
THEY WORK REALLY WELL FOR LIKE HOT AND SWEATY KIND OF ANXIETY,
THEIR OLD BUT CHEAP, TOO.
OK. YOU GOT TO LOOK UP ALL YOUR INTERACTIONS.
YOU HAVE TO LOOK UP YOUR INTERACTIONS.
SOME INTERACTIONS ARE DEADLY.
OTHER INTERACTIONS YOU CAN LIVE WITH BY ADJUSTING DOSES
AND YOU GOT TO LOOK UP YOUR INTERACTION WELL,
THE HERBAL STUFF LIKE ST. JOHN'S WORT FOR EXAMPLE,
WILL STRIP SOME ANTIBIOTICS OUT OF YOUR BODY
AND MAKE THEM NOT WORK.
THE SORT OF AIDS DRUGS CAN BE STRIPPED OUT OF THE BODY
THAT CAN BE VERY DANGEROUS.
SO IF YOU TAKE-- IT'S OK TO TAKE ST. JOHN'S WORT BUT YOU GOT
TO MAKE SURE WHAT IT INTERACTS WITH, WHAT YOU GOT TO DO.
EXERCISE WE TALKED ABOUT
AND SOME PEOPLE RESPOND WELL WITH SPECIAL DIETS.
WEIGHTED BLANKETS ARE OFTEN REALLY HELPFUL
TO THE SLEEP AT NIGHT.
WEIGHTED VESTS, 20 MINUTES ON, THEN YOU TAKE OFF HALF AN HOUR.
A WEIGHTED BLANKET FOR SLEEPING ALSO HELP--
WILL OFTEN REALLY HELPFUL TO GET A KID TO SLEEP.
THE OMEGA-3 SUPPLEMENTS, YOU KNOW,
THE FATTY ACID SUPPLEMENTS TONS OF GOOD SCIENCE NOW ON THOSE.
THOSE ARE GETTING SOLID SCIENCE BEHIND THEM.
OK. THAT'S JUST SOME, YOU KNOW, SOURCES OF INFORMATION.
>> WOULD YOU JOIN ME IN THANKING TEMPLE FOR BEING HERE?
[ APPLAUSE ]