An Autistic Teenager (Self-Proclaimed "Aspie")

would you mind leaning forward perfect perfect perfect alright there's a lot of people watching this what do they need to know about you it's not easy being autistic what would you say to somebody who's watching who's thinking but he doesn't look like he has autism aspies are very neurotypical however they still have struggles that some people with autism have what are some of your struggles social awkwardness is one of them welcome to SBS K join me as I travel around the world an interview individuals living with a condition to prove no matter how you communicate but what obstacles you face you're always deserving of love and acceptance so without hesitation let's meet today's friend I'm an Aspie what does ask be staying for it's short for it's short for Asperger's and it means that I have Asperger's what would you say is your biggest hope for the future that I may end up living a normal or at least mostly normal life what do you consider a normal life being able to interact with people and not really seem all that strange he loves puns to the point where it's painful you could say it's quite pungent yes yes so you know I mean there's times that we have to limit him to four pun today or three puns a day just so we can survive we can keep our sanity did you hear about how popular graveyards are no I hear people are just dying to get in there that's your biggest fear in life being perceived as strange or not really fitting in because sometimes fitting in with the crowd is nice and you don't really have to worry about people making fun of you what's the most important thing for the world to understand about autism that even though people are autistic and they might not understand some things they're still people they still need attention they're still living beings just like you and pretty much everybody else out there if you went to school to learn things like eye contact and social interaction I have gone to a social skills for that kind of stuff what is social skills social skills is a program where it's camp and we go in and discuss different things such as eye contact motions different ways to calm down what have you learned in that camp I have learned how to be a good sport when playing games and how to have empathy for people what is the thing that confuses you most about humans as a whole why we're so worried about different things that don't even really matter such as for a big part what we look like why doesn't that matter because it's on the inside that's what matters it's not really what's on the outside easy for a handsome guy like you to say I'm just joking I agree with you but you picked up on that right how could you tell how could I tell what that I was joking because the fact that you were just like is that something you learned in the social skills class yeah usually people they can't keep a straight face when they're joking we're sitting here two dudes having a conversation you're exhibiting great social skills looking me in the eyes you speak I speak we're taking turns is this something you learn to do the eye contact yes but the speaking I kind of picked that up on my own so when you were taught I contact what did they teach you how did they teach you it they taught me stuff like if you can go ahead and look people in the eye then just go ahead and look so I'm something like their nose or their forehead so right now are you secretly looking me in the nose no you're looking me in the eyes at first I was kind of hard to do stuff and I started looking people in the nose then I looked people in the eyes at first why was it hard for you to look people in the eyes it seems kind of awkward to go ahead and look people in the eyes but it's not as strange now because I've done it so much do you feel like you're being forced to do something you really don't want to do that no it doesn't fit like that so after you got exposed to it you're okay with making the eye contact and keeping it yes part of the struggle is one when you have that diagnosis people around you don't understand it we didn't understand it for quite a while and you'd say something and you're speaking one language he's hearing a different language and there's just this total disconnect it's kind of weird because you're sitting there and then all of a sudden you're just you're diving in the room anymore you're you're out in the clouds it's like you're your mind has your head is it a good thing or a bad thing it can be both because sometimes you're daydreaming and you want to still pay attention to stuff like schoolwork but you're lost in this other world so it might take a few attempts to get you back so they just look at him like either he's a brat or what's wrong with him and there's no understanding when when you have someone that looks normal and then it's not necessarily acting the way that you think that they should sometimes I get so lost in the daydream that I don't even like I space out I don't even notice the stuff in front of me anymore it's like I'm looking up there I can see pretty much with my own eyes but I am daydreaming about how do you differentiate being weird and being unique is it good to be unique it is good to be unique is it good to be weird no what's the difference between weird and unique unique is where you are special being weird is what makes people not want to hang out with you have you ever been made fun of I have been made fun of before is it okay if I ask you questions about that you can say yes or no whatever you're comfortable with yes that's fine what did people say they said stuff like oh look it's Garrett the carrot or Garrett the ferret was it really the words they said were the meaning behind it that hurt you a little bit of both what was the meaning behind it the meaning behind it was in a way I was kind of not normal do you enjoy having the opportunity to express your thoughts and opinions it's kind of weird but nice to be able to express them why is it weird because it's not something I've done a whole lot how do you feel as you express yourself like there's this weight that's taken off my shoulders it's like we're telling people how I feel this needs to be known I'll tell you everything that you ever wanted to know and more about any Pokemon character that you could ask or probably any Mario game why do you like videogames so much to me they're easy to understand and they're very fun do you enjoy the escape from reality yes because it's like a whole nother world where I can just immerse myself and have fun in a way that I couldn't in real life do you feel like when you're in the other world your anxieties and pressures from the real world kind of dissipate and fade away yeah because I'm watching myself controlling people such as link or Kirby and it doesn't feel like I'm in the real world going ahead and dealing with those things do you feel like you have more control in video games than you do in your actual life yes how does that feel it feels good to be more in control because as a kid there were some things that we just don't have control over does your sister put you at ease in a way that it's hard for other people to do yes she puts me at ease in a different way than most people why is that it may just be how cute she is or maybe the fact that sometimes she just does stuff that makes everybody laugh if you had a choice would you change anything about who you are sometimes I wish I was neurotypical why do you wish you were neurotypical sometimes because it would make it easier for me to interact with other people and understand other things do you ever feel lonely at times yes what do you do in those moments sit down and read a book how do you feel when you spend time with Ella I feel at peace in a lot of ways why is that Ella just has this way of calming her down making people happy it's kind of hard to explain but she does it really well you mentioned that you hope that others do not perceive you as weird not once during this conversation have I perceived you as weird but I have perceived you as unique you have unique qualities and I appreciate them and I think they make you who you are and that's a good thing ed heck I even think being weird can be a good thing sometimes but you're unique I've never once thought you were weird is there anything else you would like to say I'm an Aspie and I'm proud to be one thanks for having me today thank you for coming over to our house No thank you for having me today should we end the interview now yes bye everyone bye thanks for watching if you appreciate what we're doing and want to see SBS K grow make sure to LIKE comment and subscribe this will help us reach even more people and make the world a better place thank you alright so I have my own YouTube channel and it's called the pix laters however it's not spelled as you might think it's about gaming I do a lot of different games I've been trying to do some new things cool anything else E when I say

Channel: Special Books by Special Kids

Views: 3,233,142

Rating: 4.9670076 out of 5

Keywords: Autism, Autistic, Asperger's, SBSK, Chris Ulmer, Mr. Chris, Special Books by Special Kids, inclusion, special education

Id: 4gA-w2e21Ag

Length: 13min 24sec (804 seconds)

Published: Thu May 24 2018