- Could you have aphasia? I've got the signs. So let's go. Welcome my friend. Thank you so much for being
here and watching this video. I'm Orion Kelly, that autistic guy. I'm all about helping you raise
your level of understanding, acceptance, and appreciation
of the autistic community. So please come and join this amazing community
we have built together by subscribing to my YouTube
channels, Orion Kelly, that autistic guy, and
Orion Kelly podcasts. Let's explore the topic
of Aphantasia, what it is, it's connection to autism, and most importantly, how it affects your daily
life as a starting point. This is not a diagnostic video. I'm not a healthcare practitioner. I'm just an autistic guy
showing my lived experiences as an actually autistic person. It's a discussion starter. If you want to continue that discussion, I recommend you go and
see a GP or family doctor. Now, I've been saying aphantasia. Some people may say, aphantasia.
Either way, you are right. Let's suspend disbelief
of your way of saying it and go with my way of saying it. For the purpose of this
video, what is aphantasia? Well, in basic terms, it's a condition that affects your ability
to visualize images in your mind's. Eye ectasia is a neurological condition that is characterized by an inability to voluntarily visualize mental images. So people with aphantasia
can't see images in their mind even when they try. You may also have heard this described as image free thinking. Let's do a quick example that you can actually
experience with me right now. I want you to think of a cat. Does an image of a cat come to
mind? What color is the cat? What's the cat doing in
that image in your mind? Now, for most, an image of a cat appears in their mind's eye though
for others, creating a dimm, vague, even incomplete picture takes time and effort, whereas
others can picture the cat with exceptional clarity. People with aphantasia
can't create a mental image, or at the very least, struggle
to create mental images. In other words, can't create
mental images of people, places, objects, thoughts, memories, even images of the future. Now, Fantasia, so not a Fantasia or a Fantasia, but Fantasia was the word Aristotle used to describe our sixth sense, or the ability to imagine things
not present to your senses. Therefore, a Fantasia or Aphantasia denotes its absence. Now, aphantasia can definitely
present in different ways, but there are some common
signs to look out for - Not being able to
visualize anything at all. Not even simple shapes or colors, or you can only visualize
very faint images. In other words, they're
not clear or detailed. And the other common side is you can actually visualize
images, but they're fleeting and quickly disappear. You can't hold them in your mind's eye. So that's advasia or aphantasia. Now, let's talk about
its connection to autism. There is some evidence to suggest that aphantasia is in fact
more common in autistic people. A study published in 2019
found that around 38% of autistic people also
had aphantasia compared to just 2.9% of the general population. Now, as always, neurological, the brain, really the connection is not understood. People like to say it's
still not fully understood. That's just an academic's
way of saying, eh. However, it is thought
though that both advasia and autism may involve
differences in the way our brain processes visual information
that makes sense. Different brain, different
processing, like, hello, that's now I'm gonna get to
some of the major impacts that it can actually have on your life. Aphantasia, and there are many, but first, we're talking
about the connection between being an autistic
person and aphantasia. You might think, well, there's
signs I can look out for. Yeah, there is. Okay,
so let's talk about some of the signs that an autistic
person may experience. Aphantasia. Do you have
difficulties with visualization? And this is funny, right? You know how like the self-help gurus
always say you can manifest the life of your dreams by visualizing it, and you think that sounds pretty cool, but then you try it and you
realize, yeah, I can't do this. Like I can't visualize.
They say, oh, visualize it. Like you are there, like
you're in it and experiencing and it's real, and you'll manifest it. Now, this sounds great, but if I can't do it, what does that mean? I'm stuffed, like, 'cause I'm already stuffed anyway, so I, I might as well stay stuffed. This is something I can relate to. Bottom line is autistic
people may find it difficult to visualize images, like I
said, visualizing the things to manifest, visualizing memories, events, daydreaming, these kind of things. If that is a struggle for
you as an autistic person, it could be a sign of aphantasia. Another sign that you are autistic and have aphantasia is a difficulty in understanding metaphors. Now, this is common for autistic people, but here we're talking
about the specific type of metaphors that rely on you to be able to visualize the image of the metaphor. Obviously, if you can't
visualize the image being used to represent something
else, that is the metaphor, then you'll never grasp
that particular metaphor. This sign that you're autistic and also may have aphantasia,
may ring a lot of alarm bells. It's facial recognition. As an autistic person,
do you have difficulties with facial recognition? Do you like me struggle
to recognize faces? You see someone, there's something
inside you that's saying, this face is important to
me, but I don't know why. Mm, why is that? Well, if we can't visualize
the image of that face of that person, that name and that face, it makes
it very hard to recall, to recognize the face. So in effect, aphantasia
is causing you to be unable to even just identify
someone, recognize someone, remember someone, which leads
to, in my opinion, a lack of eye contact and they're my friend. Another insight into autistic
people and eye contact, right? We are processing a person's face and we just can't get there. Many reasons. Okay, well, I'm looking away because I'm processing,
but also I'm looking away 'cause I don't want you to see me so that I then I'm exposed that
I don't know who you are. I can't remember, you and
I, I'm also looking away. 'cause the possible awkward interaction and the anxiety of not being able to visualize this person and
realize, I know this person. That's Jane or John or Jim. They're getting great
names today, brought to you by the letter J. Autistic people who also struggle with Aphantasia will have a difficulty with spatial reasoning. Again, because we actually
can't visualize the images or objects in our mind. Now, of course, if we can't
visualize those images or objects in our mind,
we're gonna struggle to do things like understand
maps, read maps, navigate, navigate our surroundings,
and even build things. Man, I am not good at building things. Can you visualize the thing in your mind? Can you look at the diagrams
on the instructions, visualize that and put into practice. I can't. The idea of
looking at the diagram and still not being able
to visualize it is a sign of aphantasia. Autistic people who also
have aphantasia can genuinely struggle with communication. I get it. Autistic people
as a rule, struggle with communication and interaction, but, and crucially, AIA can
actually impact our ability to identify and convey our emotions and feelings if we can't in fact visualize how we're feeling, our
emotions in our mind's eye. That's just plain frustrating, right? That just leads to misunderstandings. It's not a good result. Okay, social interactions,
core autistic trait, core autistic challenge. Yep, absolutely. Although
it can also be a sign your autistic and experience aphantasia. Why? Right? Because you can't
visualize the social cues. You can't write, you can't
visualize body language, nonverbal cues. So you're seeing them, right? If you can't visualize
'em up here to process 'em and identify them, how are
you understanding what's happening in the interaction? Right? - How are you interacting?
This leaves you with a sense of having no idea what people
are thinking or saying, and therefore it becomes
virtually impossible to respond appropriately
in any interaction. How does aphantasia
impact your daily life? I'm gonna get to that next, after this final sign that you're autistic and could have aphantasia. And it's all about learning a bit. Like I talked about in spatial reasoning and building things. An autistic person that also
experiences aphantasia can really struggle to learn
in the particular ways that really rely on visualizing these to be textbooks, visual
aids, slideshows, diagrams, pictures, really every
part of education, right? And I guess a good example of
how you might go, oh, okay, that is me, is maybe you like me, are actually better at
learning things hands on rather than visualizing, you know, in diagrams and textbooks. Or maybe you're a person who learns things by simply listening to lectures. In other words, not looking at
the slides, the presentation, the PowerPoints, whatever,
and simply listening to what's being said. So listening or looking to very different ways, but usually put 'em
together when you, right, when you're in a, when
you're in a lecture, taking away the looking,
just the listening or doing something hands-on. I find this is really helpful.
You can show me it 70 times, but until I physically do it and look basically fail repeatedly and keep doing it, I'll never get it. That's a sign. Autistic and has aphantasia, aphantasia, aphantasia can have a
significant impact on your life. So let's talk about some of
the major impacts you may experience with Aphantasia. We'll start with daydreaming. People with aphantasia may
find it really difficult to daydream, and this is because they can't actually
visualize the images and scenarios that you would
typically see in your mind. Now, this inability to
daydream impacts your ability to relax, unwind, regulate, and therefore increases stress. Advasia can also make it really hard to visualize your memories, because even if you try, you can't actually visualize the images or the events of those memories that others would see in their mind. This can make it even harder
to simply remember things, to simply feel a connection to your past. I find at times I can
struggle to recall anything from my life, childhood, or whenever you ask me a question about this or that I, I honestly don't remember. I honestly can't tell you. This is an experience
that I know too well. In other words, not remembering
memories doesn't always have to be linked to trauma. You know, actually can be linked to something else like aphantasia. People with aphantasia can
actually really struggle to plan for the future, to
plan really in general. Again, - Because in planning
for things, in planning for the future, your mind
would require to see the images or the scenarios of those future events to therefore plan for them not being able to visualize those images. Those scenarios of those future events can have a big impact. How, well, it obviously
makes it harder to set goals, to plan for things, and
ultimately to make decisions. Creative arts, I think, is
a really important outlet for autistic people, for
neurodivergent people. Well, it's impacted once
again by Aphantasia. Why? Well, I'd say it'd be pretty difficult to create art if you are unable to visualize the art you want to create. You see what I'm saying here? And this inability to
visualize the creative side of your life of your mind
can impact many facets of being creative, like
creativity, coming up with ideas, even executing the plan of creativity or executing plans in general. Understanding abstract concepts and metaphors is a common
challenge for autistic people. But did you know that a
fantasia also plays a part? So people that experience
aphantasia can find it difficult to understand metaphors because they can't actually
visualize the images that are being used in the metaphor to represent something else. You see what I'm saying? It's
the missing link. Big impact. It means that metaphors
are a different language. You just simply don't understand them. Therefore, you can't really receive them and digest them, and you
can't use them yourself. Or if you do, you use them outta context. People with advasia can really
struggle in the education field, can really struggle to learn. Now, obviously this relates
to certain types of learning. We know that neurodivergent
people can learn very differently, but then again,
there is no one size fits all. Okay, so how would AIA
affect your ability to learn? Well, think about it. So
textbooks, again, there's a lot of visualization there
slides with visual aids, imagery of learning. If it can't be replicated
in your mind's eye, how do you digest it? How do you learn it? This
flows on to career employment. If you're a person with aphantasia and you are in a employment sector that requires visualization, and I think there aren't many jobs that don't require some degree or level of visualizing,
images, events, scenarios, in your mind, well, this
can make it very hard to not only thrive in your role, but to even maintain employment. Now, this impact is more
of a general discussion on how a person with advasia, with AIA would thrive in
friendships and relationships. What I mean by that is
it's not exactly an easy condition to explain. I've done my best to try and make it a little
bit easier to explain, - But it, it's one of those things you try to tell someone you are
in a relationship with, or friends or family, this inability or this difficulty in simply seeing images in your mind. I think that's gonna be tricky. And then there's the acceptance side of them actually accepting it. Now, the impact on the
relationship, well, it's, it's, there's many factors to how that can impact the relationship. I think ultimately though,
the key impact is a sense of isolation and loneliness, a disconnect. Simply put, aphantasia
is a complex condition that is still not fully understood and clearly it can have a significant impact on people's lives. Hey, what do you wanna talk about next? Got any ideas, any topics,
suggestions for upcoming videos? Hit me up. Let's see them
in the comments below. I really do appreciate
you watching this video until my next video. Thank you so much for your
support and we'll talk soon.
