Why are so many autistic adults undiagnosed? | Kip Chow | TEDxSFU

I LOVE that they analogize autism as simply running a different OS as opposed to being broken or deficient. I've used this analogy for years to help people better understand what autism is actually like. Never have had a problem with anyone understanding when I frame it that way.

I'm mourning my life I could have had. I'm so angry. If I even mention autism, someone with a "real" autistic family member will shut me all the way down. I have been masking my whole life. I have such a hard time with social interactions. It's just like you said, for years I have been encouraged to just change and then I will be accepted, but its a lie, they still don't accept me and I damn near have no idea who I really am at this point. Thank you for this talk. I am a brown woman with ancestors from the African continent. They refuse to allow me any accomodations so I can also function, it's always you have to do it the way everyone else does it or you are wrong and invalid. I hate being forced to conform so much. It has caused me so much depression. Thank you again!

I had a relationship with an autistic person but he was diagnosed only after three years we were together and the reason he seeked medical help was depression. He was the most surprised one, but many things started making sense.He's doing super fine now.

This was wonderful. As a woman in my 40s who only recently realized that I might be autistic, I appreciate your efforts to bring awareness to the lack of diagnostic tools available for adults.

Is no one gonna mention how they said "thank you for coming to my TED Talk" and then winked? A cute ending to an accessible, informative talk.

I was recently diagnosed with ADHD. I have Kaiser insurance here in America. The process was simple. I called the psychiatry department, they gave me an appointment for two weeks later, I met with the psychiatrist for an hour and that was that. A few weeks later, I was thinking about ASD and it connected a lot of dots for me. I watched videos of people who have both ADHD and ASD and it made my life make sense. So, I called the psychiatry department back thinking it would be the same simple process. However, I was instead met with confusion and questions. "An autism assessment? Oh, we don't really do that. You weren't diagnosed as a child? Why do you want this? Ok, well, we will leave a note for the psychiatrist.". I have no idea why there was such resistance for them to schedule another visit for me to meet with the psychiatrist 🤷‍♀️.

Fantastic Talk! I am a therapist and have many adults that come to see me for depression/anxiety and OCD symptoms or ADHD symptoms and after a few minutes of interaction, I pick up on some patterns and ask "have you ever considered that you might have traits on the autism spectrum?" Most of the time, these clients will reply yes and that they have spoken to others but have been told that they can't be autistic because they don't look like so-and-so who is autistic. I find that female clients are especially dismissed with their own questions about autism because they have friends and might not be good at math. I am thankful for your words and perspective in this talk and will share it with my clients and colleagues.

I’m 51. Only just realized I’m on the spectrum. I’ve been asking for help all my life. No one has ever listened. I’m just “weird “ or “too sensitive.” Well, as it turns out, both of those things are true. But now I have an answer as to why and it’s made all the difference. Imagine living your whole life like a puzzle with big pieces missing. Now I have those pieces and my life makes sense to me. I’m lucky. I happened upon the right information at the right time. I easily could have spent the rest of my life in silent fear and pain.

I like this talk. It's well-structured, informative and the speech is slow enough and clear which makes it easier to understand for people that are not native speakers.

I was 51 when I was diagnosed. Two sth. months ago. I agree with you: a lifelong feeling out of place and misunderstood, listening to people call you all sort of things and not understanding why.

The fact that it costs so much to get tested for autism is what's stopping me from getting a diagnosis as a 26 year old. I have a suspicion that I might be autistic because of the behaviours and thought patterns I exhibit but its always met with a comment like "you don't need to get tested because you function just fine and we're all on the spectrum." The fact that these barriers exist is what stops so many potentially autistic adults receive a diagnosis.

My oldest daughter is 19 years old and she was recently diagnosed with autism. She always felt like there was something wrong with her 😢. I send lots of compassion for all the people in the world with autism. .

I am 27, I live in Turkey and I haven’t been diagnosed. But I do believe that I have autism because wherever I have been I had very bad, terrible social relationships, even since the elementary school. I have almost always been bullied or alienated. My parents either refused to see and ignored or were not able relate my situation to autism. Now I realize that I might be autistic. I need help to be diagnosed…. Psychiatrists in Turkey do it only for the children.

Exactly right - inherently different but never less. A square peg in a round hole.

I thought I was just depressed then found out I might be autistic accidentally. Now I can’t shake it off, I keep researching because I just resonate with most experiences

15:36 I love your playful body language. For example when you say "Are you ready?" you have such a friendly, energetic bounce in your body, and combined with your gentle voice I feel all NICE inside.^^ I bet children often like you 😄

My own mother couldn't accept me being different and told me no one could love me the way I was. I have been in hiding and masking myself for 46 years. Music was/is the only place I feel safe. Autism is also about acceptance/tolerance of diversity. You have diversity everywhere, why can't you ( as society) accept diversity in human personalities? I am done with masking and hiding now. I am done with keeping my mouth /emotions shut down in order to keep everyone else comfortable. This Earth has room for everyone no matter what you think, feel or look like.

it's amazing to hear actually autistic people talk about autism and their personal experiences! thank you <3

I love how he got deep into and really gave examples.

My partner and many of her family members are on the spectrum. I must say, the way our medical system in the US is handling autism, or should I say not handling it is a travesty. We seem to only be fixated on the psychological aspect but there are some very serious medical aspects that need to be addressed. I took my partner to a functional MD in Taiwan who specializes in Autism. The gut dysbiosis, chemical toxicities, food intolerances, etc which are rampant in autistic individuals are basically being ignored in America. These are serious issues that can greatly contribute to anxiety and other serious medical problems. Proper treatment from well informed healthcare providers has helped my partner tremendously. I wish more autistic people could have access to Functional medicine because the antiquated allopathic model is pretty much useless. We really need to start demanding better healthcare because America is really falling behind in so many ways.