Understanding Autism with Sir Simon Baron-Cohen (Professor, University of Cambridge)

I can't believe what what that man said. Seriously!? You should only get a diagnosis of autism if there's evidence of disability!? It's so disheartening to hear someone who's an expert on autism make a statement like that. Kudos to the interviewer for the excellent followup question about people getting a diagnosis for the purpose of better understanding themselves. That question was totally deflected, by the way. As a late diagnosed autistic person, getting a formal diagnosis was quite literally life changing. I don't consider myself to be disabled, and I don't require any special accommodations. What the diagnosis did for me was help me to understand myself so much better. I have more self confidence, and I'm more at peace with with who I am. So much about my life makes sense now. There's absolutely value in an autism diagnosis even if you don't need special accommodations.

It’s important to note that many people do not run into difficulty functioning until they are well into their adult years….in their 20’s, 30’s, and 40’s. This can affect their confidence and success in the workplace, and if they have no idea they are autistic, this would be extremely distressing to them - which could lead to suicidality. I have to wonder how many adult suicides are committed by people who have undiagnosed autism.

I was diagnosed with ADHD and have very strong autistic traits. I meet the cut-offs on AQ, EQ, RME etc. I might get the Asperger diagnosis (doesn't exist anymore) if I were to be examined. I function, yeah, but I have to take 3 pills, sometimes 4 a day. It's not easy, it's not. The depressions, anxiety, social life, lack of motivation, even the simplest things, even the mundane everyday life etc., I could go all day... I can't be around people longer than 1 hour, I can't, it becomes unbearable! Not that I have social phobia or sth., I just can't, it's an extreme cognitive burden! I have problems in social life, mimic, gestures. I'm ok with basics but it becomes impossible if it gets complicated. I have no autopilot, I must 24/7 systemize, organize, optimize. Issues with self confidence, executive dysfunction, emotional dysregulation, I could go on and on... That's why I don't agree with Prof. Cohen. Just because someone functions doesn't mean that he doesn't suffer (enough). I must bust my .ss for even the simplest things that a neurotypical effortlessly can. Believe me, it's fu.king hard!

A question I'd like to hear asked of autism researchers is how big is the undiagnosed autistic population compared to the diagnosed? I suspect the undiagnosed population is much, much larger. If so, then the statistics about autism and co-morbidities cannot be taken seriously. This is because autistic children with co-morbidities are more likely to draw attention and be diagnosed than ones without.

thoughrally enjoyed this as a late and in process of diagnosis autistic person. Thankyou, I have always been interested in SBC since learning of his development of the aq test and of course his famouse cousin - both things are really interesting and he comes accross really really lovely and informative - great questions and interviewer - thankyou! (I say in between randomly crying from a now 4 year burnout!)

Thank you!!!!!❤️

Dr. Baron-Cohen is a man with such a wealth of information about autism. I love the research and work he has done in this field. Thank you for helping me understand my son's experience in this neurotypical world.

It is my experience that autistic people seem to not only be unable to visualise what another person is thinking, but they also seem not to be able to visualise themselves into a new situation. They can't easily visualise what a particular course of study would involve, or career, or a job interview, or any role they have not had a first-hand introduction to. Also, there is a certain amount of demand avoidance in autism. They tend to say no automatically without giving something a chance. They lose out on opportunities and training because of this sometimes. It is caused by extreme anxiety in not being able to visualise I think. The above must be taken into account by teachers and employers. Advance notice about situations arising are necessary and a gradual introduction so that they do not cause anxiety and result in an automatic no response. A buddy system is useful and a relaxed and not overly demanding manager. Someone who can joke a bit with the autistic person and relax them. Give them choices rather than negative feedback and hanging over their shoulder. Autism and slow processing speed seem also to be linked and needs consideration. Written instructions and slower communication broken into steps helps. Also background information and context. Also sometimes stress levels rise along with heartbeat. Stomach and bowl problems etc. also arise. A sort of fight or flight feeling too. The person may need a breaks to calm themselves or may need to move to use up excess adrenaline. This must be understood and not made difficult or awkward. Finally Autism and trauma with follow on psychosis and schizo- affective disorders may also present. Greater expertise is required to prevent, address and treat this properly. Psychiatrists seem not to know what to do, not to know where autism ends and psychosis / skitzo affective disorders begin. I wonder could the above be discussed next time. Many thanks for an interesting discussion.

I disagree with doctor's discouragement of obtaining the diagnosis. "Are they interfering with your ability to function." Another question that could be asked if if they arw interfering with others ability to functuon with you. If you get into a relationship with someone who was hiding the fact that they are on the autism spectrum, you have lost a roadmap that could help with navigating that relationship. Diagnosis is important so that people can try to speak each others language. In order to do that they first need to know each others language.

Beautiful video. But you do not know how long it took me to realize Simon is not Sasha? Im like, what does borat have to do with autism?

I’m amazed that someone as knowledgable about Autism as Simon Baren-Cohen questions whether Elon Musk is Autistic because of how he presents himself. Has he never heard of masking or compensatory strategies? I’m not saying Elon Musk is or isn’t Autistic, but he of all people should know you can’t judge that based on how they present themselves.

Yes, this guy is related to Sasha Baron-Cohen.

Set aside the degree that an individual manifests various autistic traits for a moment. What makes one call a trait an autistic trait? Is there something common to all those traits, or is there arbitrariness in it?

I have a nephew with autism and he has very violent outbursts and needs medication for that. I didn’t think that was unusual

I can't believe Prof Baron-Cohen just said, "we all have autistic traits" (time 20:40)

Great interview but I think it’s absurd for the guest to suggest only the most visibly affected pple should have access to diagnosis. In the US there are already so many barriers to diagnosis and services even for the most affected pple. There is no evidence to suggest gatekeeping it further improve outcomes. Removing diagnosis for low support needs autistics also runs the risk of negatively effecting mental health. Low support needs autistics often have less visible disabilities or challenges that can be met with accommodations, self awareness, or cognitive behavior therapy. Finally, some non autistics may exhibit overlap in traits with diagnosed individuals but it’s important to note the frequency, intensity, and pervasiveness of how those traits affect autistics. We all aren’t a little autistic. The underlying reasons behind those traits are often the product of necessary self soothing measures in response to social and sensory challenges.

18:19 “A person shouldn’t get the diagnosis of autism unless there’s evidence of disability.”

oh the hat. please

For me that differentiation between autistics is just explained by the development of the higher jerarchy neurons and connections. For those who are more functional, that space in charge of refining thoughs regulate impulses analyze for multiple information sources in parallel and at a faster speed is greater or better developed. They may struggle with other impairments but can camouflage better in contrast to those more severely affected. In contrast to those more severe affected that struggle even suppressing impulsive actions according to the situation being this role of those higher connections giving you an better understanding and control. This improved space can be visualized as a giant canvas where recurrent information like short-term memory, imagination, and fast processing for multiple inputs are stored. Individuals with reduced space feel anxiety in environments filled with sensory stimuli, social interactions, and inner thinking, leading them to disassociate or employ escape mechanisms. Lying effectively for example requires considering original facts, matching others' thinking, and imagining possible scenarios rapidly, which can be challenging for autistic individuals due to limitations in this space. They may compensate with extra time for thinking but may struggle in complex scenarios and shouldnt be confused with not being autistic. This space is also in charge of organization, you can previsualize what is more likely to happen in your environment addressing multiple information at the same time and act accordingly being this the reason why they may struggle at planning multitasking and basically most complex tasks that again if given a lot more time they can find a way to achieve something similar maybe drawing on the air or in a paper so they use that sheet as they lacking part to refine thoughs. Not sure about if this could be the reason why some autistic people have problems tracking time, body space, internal regulators like temperature tones and others since the brain may be aware of its limited amount of conscious  control it tends to prioritize and neglect some functions and in non verbal cases they can just think what they want but can't combine that with actual vocalization so they or write or use visual aids or gestures since they dont need much thinking on how to transform ideas or requirements into words or sentences. The improved memory is also explained given that the part of the brain involved in long term memory is better developed so they use that instead and with time they get a better at using it sadly this part is not near as fast and cant be used for refining and understanding just to save facts that you previously worked in the short term one like a snapshot of your interpretation so they keep talking the samr things on just one topic(key-content) similar to improved senses for blind people just an adaptation mechanism for the lack of the other. For the focus thing just in one topic is explained aswell for the limited space. Like a key storage to access long term memory, they just can save a unique or limited amount of keys for depper knowledge and well they just keep talking about the same topic is the only path pre-built to long term memory and if asked to change topic will take more effort and more time to delete some of the previous topic from short term to make space in contrast to neurotipicals that just can save a lot more keys for different topics and also keep alert on all body signals autistics just keep optimizing their little limited capacity this would also explain like for patterns or simpler concepts refine information in the outside before analizing inside the brain reducing complexity gives more space for additional information or thinking. Really sad hope to see a real treatment that aims to this undeveloped area and don't rely on pet training ABA or sedative drugs or cannabis common why I mean are we really helping or just silencing them not addressing the root cause of the symptoms won't get us far Improving quality of live for this community.

It is an extremely dispiriting to hear a supposed preeminent expert on autism stating that one shouldn’t get a diagnosis unless they have a disability. Define disability for one thing and who gets to decide how to frame those parameters?  Secondly, why would anyone be seeking a diagnosis in the first place unless they are experiencing difficulties? Diagnosis is financially and logistically challenging pretty much everywhere in the world. The suggestion that anyone is frivolously seeking out a diagnosis as some sort of navel gazing exercise is a dangerous supposition. Does he get his information from the trolls on TikTok? Using Elon Musk as an example is disingenuous too. Putting aside the fact that he is an anomoly in the population, another assumption is being made about Musk’s private mental health. Does Baron-Cohen pretend to know anything beyond the public persona of an individual. That’s just insane. Most importantly, it seems that Baron-Cohen is ignoring one piece of data that he should instead be focusing on. As anyone in this field should be - lowered average life expectancy and self h4rm. The fact that the rates of self h4rm are increased in high masking autistic females who are WITHOUT intellectual disability, completely contradicts his point. Disappointing.