The Ten Second Autism Test

hey i'm dave welcome to my shop i'm dave plummer  a retired software engineer with a reasonably   popular youtube channel featuring some rather  obscure computer programming topics like the   secret history of microsoft bob and stupid c  plus tricks and computer language drag racing   six million or so views later i've got a bit of  a secret to share i've got autism and not just a   little i mean at one time they might have called  my case asperger's but given his nazi activities   no one's gonna be advocating for being called out  these days so it's all one big happy family under   the larger umbrella of autism i've dropped a few  hints to those paying attention with comments like   uh there might be a whole spectrum of reasons why  i am that way and so on but i've never been plain   about the fact that i actually do have autism but  how do i know that i have it well because i was   tested very thoroughly you see when i was first  told that i might have autism i thought it sort   of laughable because i'm reasonably empathetic  and sensitive and emotional and funny and   all things that i thought would preclude me from  being anywhere on the autism spectrum so i took   an informal test about a 10-minute version of the  10-second test that we'll get to shortly and i was   surprised enough by the results that i booked an  appointment with a top local neurologist confident   that my warm personality and engaging humor would  make for a short interview the doctor though was   les blase after talking with me she decided that  a full psychoneurological workup was in order   including an adult sat an iq test and about 12  hours of other testing as i told close friends   of this upcoming testing i was fully expecting a  course of what you autistic ah that's silly but   instead i was met with reactions like fascinating  let us know the results i wasn't sure how to read   those reactions yet of course when the big report  finally came back i found out that i indeed had   autism along with a pretty good case of attention  deficit disorder which is pretty typical on the   spectrum and while i'm considered reasonably high  functioning because of my iq i'm also apparently   99th percentile meaning only about one in 100  people in the general population is more impacted   by the symptoms of autism than i am so given  that about 1 in 68 people are thought to have asd   maybe you can make some kind of fraction  out of that but i'm not gonna try   the percentile number that you get is really all  they can give you for a severity index besides   designing a level such as one two or three on  that scale i'd be in between one and two like   i said it's one big happy spectrum so from here  on out i'm just gonna call it autism or asd for   autism spectrum disorder so what's the difference  between having autism and having autism disorder   well in my mind the person could at least in  theory have a little autism by which i mean they   could have some of the symptoms in concordance  with autism but they don't rise to the level   of being pathological for them so they don't  constitute a disorder to me the symptoms of autism   are best described as simple narrow diversity up  until they cause unavoidable pathological outcomes   that which cannot be accommodated nor easily  tolerated rises to the level of being a disorder   and while i'm making confessions here i might  as well note that back when i started this   channel i did stuff with a bit of an ulterior  motive when i first got my diagnosis i kind of   resented being labeled and i felt like i was  being placed in a restrictive box of some sort   so i decided to push back on the walls of  that box by intentionally doing things that   were and are different for me because uncharted  territory is where the most discoveries are made   similarly doing things you suck at and perhaps  are afraid of is where the most growth occurs   to that end right before kovid i hosted a big  open house shop party for dozens of friends   and acquaintances right here in dave's garage i  started writing a book and i started this youtube   channel i'm one of those folks who doesn't even  like having their picture taken very much and so   editing yourself in glorious 4k60 on a 38  inch monitor for hours or days at a time is   some serious exposure therapy and it's also  given me a great opportunity to write about 3   000 words a week which i enjoy a great deal and to  practice my masking what's masking you might ask   put bluntly it's the art of acting  normal and i'm still getting better at it   it's also the subject of just one of the chapters  of the book i've been working on which has just   been published in ebook paperback and hardcover  it also features chapters on empathy emotions   mind blindness marriage parenting employment and  many more it opens with my biographical backstory   and takes you on through the microsoft interview  process getting a job moving to the us and so on   now the title is a little bit of clickbait  so brace yourself it's called secrets of the   autistic millionaire because that will make people  click on her on amazon but the subtitle is really   more accurate everything i know about autism asd  and asperger's that i wish i'd known back then   basically i wrote down everything i wish i'd known  about autism when i was younger because i wasn't   diagnosed until just a couple of years ago i grew  up knowing i was pretty damn different but i had   no idea that it was also normal to be so different  and that it had a name and that there were   millions of people just like me who experienced  life and thought and emotions in much the same way   as i did and those people also have asd while  the title might cause one to quite reasonably   conclude that the book is about financial success  the book is really more broadly about living a   successful life with autism however you define  success when it comes time to talk about your   life's purpose i even have venn diagrams with  three levels of overlap so you know i'm serious   the book then is how to live your life with  the benefit of my hindsight take what i know   about education and parenting employment and  business and so on and apply it to your own life   and that's where the title comes in the book isn't  solely for those with autism though it's also   intended for those who love live with work with or  are friends with someone on the spectrum as well   no matter where you find yourself on the spectrum  if you're in the tech industry knowing all you can   about working with folks that have asd is only  to your benefit i consider both what it's like   to be managed by a manager with autism as well  as how to best manage an employee with autism so   both perspectives are adopted and i take the  same approach in the marriage chapter for example   i'd should be flattered if you check out at  least the ebook free sample on amazon and   i've put links to it as well as the paperback  and hardcover in the video description   nothing would make me happier than having  many of you pick up the book especially if   it all happened in the next week or so in order to  really kick-start the book's visibility on amazon   and don't forget to leave a review if you do  why do i care because promotion of this book is   entirely up to me you see when i was a young lad  i thought that a book publisher would get you on   talk shows and feature your book on billboards  and magazines and secure reviews and even sell   the movie rights and so they will if your name  is stephen king but for new authors like me it's   totally grassroots and so i don't have a big  rolodex if you know what i mean but i do have you   and to that and then i'm asking for your help in  kickstarting the marketing of the book of course   picking up a copy of the book helps a great deal  as does recommending it to friends and family   and i'd love it if you could post it on reddit  or facebook or any other place that you might   participate in that has an asd focus or even an  audience that would make it appropriate to do so   and if you happen to be neighbors with oprah  or ellen or joe rogan or donahue or whoever is   relevant these days by all means please do let me  know how to get in contact with the right people   i don't even know where to begin in that regard  or if you work for an agency that has that kind   of pull email me i need your help i could also use  quotes from famous people for the back cover and   so on i have a nice one from dr temple grandin but  it'd also be nice to have a quote from somebody on   the spectrum in the tech industry for example and  so if you know someone i don't know anyone hook   me up now in the thumbnail i promised you a 10  second autism test and i surely won't disappoint   i even think it's uh pretty accurate but of course  even if it were there would still be a huge number   of false positives and negatives and that's why  it took them more than 12 hours of testing on me   to get a real answer so it's entertainment value  only and if you're interested in a screening test   for real i've placed one in the video description  that's still only a crude test but better than the   10 second version i'd wager if you're genuinely  concerned contact the medical professional and   they can connect you with the right specialist  i found that my testing was all covered under my   insurance but if you wanted a copy of the report  as i did that generally was not but check with   your policy or your agent to be sure so with those  disclaimers out of the way if you're ready we can   begin sharpen your number two pencil and get ready  to answer a single question and that question is   which is more important to society creativity or  cooperation your answer shall determine your faith   as a gross generalization i found that  neurotypical people generally lean towards   cooperation whereas those on the spectrum tend to  offer creativity i've heard autism referred to as   the technology genes and i think that notion has  some merit i would imagine that a hundred thousand   years ago a teen tribe member became bored with  the idol fireside gossip and wandered off to   try to make the perfect arrowhead with a rock  and some flint with the flare for anticipating   how it would fracture in a personality that  demanded symmetry in all things this tribal   tesla may have been one of the progenitors of  the gene set that contributes to autism today   as temple grandin has speculated without  the genes for autism we might still all   be socializing around the campfire now does that  mean i believe that creativity trumps cooperation   well for several years i actually did until one  day i realized there's something that's even more   powerful than either and that of course is both  in combination a society sparked by the creativity   of a few unique individuals and then fueled by the  dedicated cooperation of the neurotypical we don't   all need to as steve jobs put it think different  but it helps a great deal if at least a few of us   do as you can tell from the lack of new content in  the last two weeks wrapping up the book publishing   has taken a substantial part of my time but i  don't want it to become a big part of my persona   if you know what i mean and so it's not something  i'm going to focus on with this channel a great   deal and to that end i've created a channel called  the autistic millionaire to accompany the book   if you enjoy my content in general or you  just have an interest in asd in particular   please do head on over and subscribe to the  autistic millionaire channel so that you signal   your interest to the algorithm i'll be doing a  reading of the first few chapters beginning with   burgers with bill gates the story of the first  time i ever met bill make sure you subscribe   to the autistic millionaire channel for everything  asd related as i'll be returning to your regularly   scheduled c plus tricks and language drag racing  here soon don't forget to grab yourself a classic   dave's garage mug from the channel store with all  proceeds from this channel in calendar year 2021   including views and mugs going to the uw autism  center i'd sure appreciate a thumbs up on this   video to let me know if there's even a bit  of interest and even give it a thumbs down   if i annoyed you with it i'm curious about that  too thanks for joining me out here in the shop   today in the meantime in between time i hope to  see you next time right here in dave's garage

Channel: Dave's Garage

Views: 121,263

Keywords: autism test, autism, asd, aspie world, aspergers, autism testing, asd test, asd testing, adult asd, adult asd testing

Id: fJ9X5DSnVms

Length: 10min 37sec (637 seconds)

Published: Mon Nov 01 2021