"Copy & Paste’ - Hidden Asperger’s-- Girls with Aspergers | Niamh McCann | TEDxDunLaoghaire

He bent over backwards... she was on the ball... "what you probably didn't imagine" she shows exactly what I imagined

We hear that “sociopaths” mimic personalities to gain trust and acceptance, knowing that’s what we’re doing too. Being high-functioning means you’re fully aware you’re a bit of a fraud, which can exacerbate existing anxiety and depression.

It's exhausting acting normal. Being aware of everything you do and how you do it in public situations can cause a panic attack.

i'm autistic and one phrase that stresses me out a lot is "by the skin of my teeth." my dad says that a lot and it creeps me out so much..

“Superficial social competence.” YES. And it’s so tiring to be acting all the time. Every interaction. Trying to mathematically calculate how much eye contact, where to put your hands, how much space to leave when talking. And then it causes so much anxiety.

I’m a Japanese girl with asperger. I really understand what she mean, “Copy and Paste”. Copy and paste was an only way to behave like others when I was a teenager.

"What you probably didn't imagine, was this:" Proceeds to show what I imagined.

i've felt overwhelmed & tired my entire life, always after social interaction. i laughed it off as simply being an introvert. my mother would always say she thinks i have aspergers, but i would never take her seriously. now i'm sitting here, after one week of researching & finding myself in every little text. this speech made me cry. i don't know what to do with all this information yet, but it feels like information i should have needed a long time ago. thank you.

Hello to my fellow Aspergirls ❤️ I'm a female Aspie in my 30's but no one believes me when I say that I'm on the spectrum. Her speech is spot-on - we are great mimics

I learned sarcasm in high school, after being accepted by an extremely sarcastic group of kind girls. They were always sarcastic so the guessing was taken away and I could just enjoy the humour without confusion. Other people aren't so obvious so I hear insults where there aren't any or I think an insult is sarcasm. I miss those constantly sarcastic girls.

She’s 16 years of age, delivering ridiculously insightful speeches and unleashing her insight. I wish I had her confidence.

"When I was younger, I would mimic my favorite cartoon characters." I started smiling at this part. I did the exact same thing when I was a kid. I still do it sometimes

I told my aspie daughter to "wipe that look off your face"! (before I knew she was aspie) and the poor darling literally wiped her hand across her mouth. It was funny at the time but now it breaks my heart.

All my life I thought I was just socially awkward... this is creepily accurate to how I communicate...

The worst part is when you get so good at mimicking you doubt yourself having it And have a lack of identity when not around others. I didnt know my true personality for most my childhood life

My sweet mother was 92 years old, and I was helping to care for her in an assisted living apartment, while also caring for my dad there - when my boyfriend said, "I think your mom has Asperger's, like my nephew" - who we both knew. It was amazing! He was exactly right! All the things I had thought were odd about her, was just because her brain worked differently. I was an only child, and struggled feeling like my mother always held herself back from me - which was painful, as I am not very Asperger's - though I have some qualities I learned from her, as any child is a sponge with their mother. She had used sarcasm, which was her sense of humor (she also loved puns), when she was trying to connect with us. But my dad and I would feel hurt by her sarcasm - it seemed so pointed, not loving. Once I learned to see her as different, I came to her from a very tender place, and I guess she could feel that, as she was never sarcastic again. We had a very sweet last year. I bless my boyfriend for seeing her clearly - I was too close I guess. She's been gone 5 years now, and sometimes I still wish I could have known much earlier, and been there for her more, instead of feeling hurt by her for never getting hugged or kissed or getting tender looks from her, or even never being complimented when I had done hard things. But that was really not my job, and all I can do is weep for us both, and forgive us both, and love us both.

The more I learn about autism, the more I start to ask myself: Should we realy call this a disorder? It seems to me very much like society putting a label on a lot of people who just aren't like the majority. Sure they need support, because society is not changing any time soon. But I also think, that the diagnosis often implys, that there is something wrong. When truly they just think differently. Who am I to say, that my understanding of things is "correct" and another one isn't?

I love the title "Copy and Paste" Because this is exactly what I did when I started using social media and hadn't the first idea of how to interact with others through these media.

Holy wow… as a 44 year old I’m just now piecing it all together that I have been an “Asperger girl”… everything you described as masking is what I have experienced… it is immensely exhausting- especially when you’re working with colleagues and you’re doing your best to not take them so literally and then if you ask for clarification and they get annoyed as if it’s so obvious… you get either put down or patronized or a combination of both… so you just learn to shut up and struggle in silence for fear of being ridiculed or ostracized.

that copy & paste is such a good reference. i have been faking my whole life