0:00:06.201,0:00:07.646
I love this mic.

0:00:08.254,0:00:09.763
I feel like Beyoncé.

0:00:09.783,0:00:11.127
It's so cool.

0:00:13.120,0:00:16.684
I was invited here to talk about autism.

0:00:17.203,0:00:20.574
It's a topic I know quite well[br]for two reasons.

0:00:20.604,0:00:25.293
First, I studied it during my PhD[br]in Social Psychology,

0:00:25.313,0:00:28.582
and second, I myself am[br]on the autism spectrum,

0:00:28.602,0:00:31.102
since I have Asperger's syndrome.

0:00:31.132,0:00:33.329
So, I kind of have a double hat.

0:00:34.483,0:00:37.170
But when I was preparing this speech,

0:00:37.190,0:00:40.663
I thought it would be[br]even more interesting

0:00:40.693,0:00:43.885
to talk about non-autistic people.

0:00:44.473,0:00:45.900
Yeah, that's you.

0:00:46.281,0:00:49.122
You see, I've been observing[br]you my whole life,

0:00:49.152,0:00:52.853
and truth be told,[br]I find you quite fascinating.

0:00:52.883,0:00:54.719
So, yeah,

0:00:54.739,0:00:57.509
you definitely deserve[br]your own PowerPoint.

0:00:59.004,0:01:00.224
Ta-da!

0:01:01.041,0:01:03.013
"Neurotypical people."

0:01:03.414,0:01:07.115
That's how we call people[br]who are not on the autism spectrum.

0:01:07.145,0:01:10.225
So, you too have your own little label.

0:01:12.524,0:01:14.359
What about symptoms?

0:01:14.389,0:01:18.697
Well, neurotypical people love small talk.

0:01:18.722,0:01:21.190
This is like your national sport!

0:01:21.565,0:01:23.065
You talk,

0:01:23.095,0:01:24.772
but you say nothing.

0:01:25.525,0:01:27.561
What a strange custom!

0:01:27.825,0:01:32.006
At first, I had no idea why you did that,

0:01:32.033,0:01:33.193
but I get it now.

0:01:33.223,0:01:35.205
Small talk serves a real purpose,

0:01:35.235,0:01:37.525
because it enables you[br]to connect with people

0:01:37.555,0:01:39.334
in spaces you share,

0:01:39.354,0:01:42.574
like with your neighbor[br]in the building you live in,

0:01:42.604,0:01:45.282
or with your colleague in your workspace.

0:01:45.692,0:01:48.885
Over the years, I learned[br]how to make small talk.

0:01:49.315,0:01:51.435
But sometimes, it's tricky.

0:01:51.925,0:01:56.273
Like, the other day,[br]I ran into my neighbor in the elevator.

0:01:56.293,0:02:00.882
And I was feeling confident, you know,[br]because I was wearing my lucky outfit.

0:02:01.263,0:02:04.863
And this is, of course, my lucky outfit,[br]in case you're wondering.

0:02:04.893,0:02:07.103
So I was feeling[br]like the world belonged to me,

0:02:07.133,0:02:09.613
and so I decided to engage in small talk.

0:02:09.643,0:02:12.324
And I saw he was carrying bags[br]full of groceries.

0:02:12.354,0:02:14.984
So I had this stroke of genius

0:02:15.014,0:02:17.964
and asked him this[br]really profound question:

0:02:18.424,0:02:20.210
"Oh, you did some shopping?"

0:02:20.884,0:02:21.914
Yeah, well,

0:02:21.944,0:02:23.953
as I said, I have a PhD, so -

0:02:25.233,0:02:27.182
And the neighbor answers,

0:02:27.202,0:02:31.234
"Yeah, I went to the market,[br]but I won't go there anymore.

0:02:31.882,0:02:33.515
Too many Arabs."

0:02:34.085,0:02:35.494
"Okay."

0:02:35.514,0:02:37.525
And I swear, it's a true story.

0:02:37.555,0:02:42.682
So, we went from small talk[br]to racial slurs real quick.

0:02:43.524,0:02:47.611
You also have a very special way[br]of communicating.

0:02:47.631,0:02:50.214
You use sarcasm, double meaning,

0:02:50.244,0:02:52.872
and you often tiptoe around the truth.

0:02:53.302,0:02:59.073
You have an almost pathological inability[br]to communicate in a straightforward way.

0:02:59.742,0:03:02.822
What you say can have multiple meanings,

0:03:02.852,0:03:05.775
and you always have to read[br]between the lines.

0:03:06.073,0:03:07.922
I don't know how you do it!

0:03:07.942,0:03:09.488
It's exhausting!

0:03:09.951,0:03:12.184
And you are so twisted

0:03:12.214,0:03:17.333
that sometimes you even ask questions[br]you don't want to have the answers to.

0:03:18.276,0:03:19.471
Like, for example,

0:03:19.501,0:03:21.282
if one of my girlfriends says,

0:03:21.312,0:03:23.752
"Oh look, I bought this[br]new foundation the other day

0:03:23.782,0:03:26.592
and I am wearing it right now;[br]how do you like it?",

0:03:27.428,0:03:31.431
I know by experience[br]that it may be a rhetorical question.

0:03:31.812,0:03:35.330
She probably is just trying[br]to start a conversation

0:03:35.350,0:03:37.492
or wants to be reassured.

0:03:37.522,0:03:41.950
So if I give her a straight answer,[br]like any autistic person would,

0:03:41.970,0:03:43.217
and say,

0:03:43.237,0:03:45.277
"Well, your face is orange,

0:03:45.307,0:03:49.106
and it kind of makes you look[br]like Donald Trump,"

0:03:50.112,0:03:51.461
that's no good.

0:03:51.871,0:03:54.973
All those social codes[br]and social conventions

0:03:54.993,0:03:58.543
can be particularly hard to understand[br]for an autistic person.

0:03:58.573,0:04:01.382
We say what we mean,[br]and we mean what we say,

0:04:01.412,0:04:03.593
to the point of being brutally honest.

0:04:03.973,0:04:07.139
And I really think that if you're ready[br]to put your ego aside

0:04:07.159,0:04:09.280
so as not to take everything personally,

0:04:09.310,0:04:11.415
it's a much more[br]efficient way to communicate

0:04:11.435,0:04:13.878
because you can save[br]a lot of time and energy.

0:04:13.908,0:04:15.424
You should try it.

0:04:16.853,0:04:21.199
But we also have similarities,[br]like special interests.

0:04:21.626,0:04:24.586
Autistic people tend to develop[br]an intense interest

0:04:24.616,0:04:26.704
in one or more subjects.

0:04:26.734,0:04:28.549
It can be the subway lines,

0:04:28.569,0:04:30.094
or exotic birds,

0:04:30.124,0:04:32.933
or historical figures, like Angela Davis.

0:04:33.413,0:04:36.632
We can accumulate[br]a considerable amount of knowledge

0:04:36.652,0:04:40.076
to the point of becoming experts[br]in our special interests.

0:04:40.632,0:04:44.633
It's considered a symptom[br]because it can be all-consuming.

0:04:44.654,0:04:47.071
But the truth is special interests

0:04:47.101,0:04:49.810
are an important resource[br]for people on the spectrum,

0:04:49.830,0:04:53.194
and we need them as much[br]as we need air to breathe.

0:04:53.762,0:04:56.163
But you too have[br]your own special interest:

0:04:56.183,0:04:57.609
socializing.

0:04:58.143,0:05:01.624
You spend so much time socializing,

0:05:01.654,0:05:04.453
with your friends,[br]during your coffee break,

0:05:04.473,0:05:06.464
or even with the bus driver.

0:05:06.954,0:05:10.774
It seems normal to you[br]because most people function that way,

0:05:10.804,0:05:14.496
but if you lived in a world[br]dominated by autistic people,

0:05:14.526,0:05:16.325
you would be the weirdos.

0:05:17.201,0:05:20.373
And last but not least,[br]your natural habitat.

0:05:20.395,0:05:22.043
Can I read it for you?

0:05:22.524,0:05:26.542
Neurotypical people are best observed[br]at nightfall in a dynamic environment,

0:05:26.562,0:05:28.266
with their peer group.

0:05:29.973,0:05:34.592
Of course, as you may have noticed,[br]this slide is a bit cliché,

0:05:34.613,0:05:38.789
because not all neurotypical[br]people drink champagne.

0:05:40.523,0:05:43.273
And I hate to be the bearer of bad news,

0:05:43.303,0:05:46.333
but there is no cure, for the time being.

0:05:46.363,0:05:47.785
It's so sad.

0:05:48.833,0:05:50.397
But seriously, though,

0:05:51.254,0:05:53.189
what do you think about all this?

0:05:54.374,0:05:56.317
Don't you feel a bit stigmatized?

0:05:57.183,0:05:59.112
Were you not thinking just now,

0:05:59.852,0:06:02.140
"That's a bit demeaning and simplistic"?

0:06:02.906,0:06:04.022
Yeah,

0:06:04.562,0:06:06.177
I know the feeling.

0:06:07.562,0:06:13.262
Can you imagine living in a world[br]where you are the minority,

0:06:14.143,0:06:17.643
where your way of being[br]is deemed pathological,

0:06:18.604,0:06:21.247
where people will tell you stuff like,

0:06:21.648,0:06:24.398
"But you don't look neurotypical"?

0:06:26.224,0:06:29.363
Or, "I know all about neurotypical people

0:06:29.383,0:06:32.403
because I saw an entire[br]season of 'Friends.'"

0:06:33.812,0:06:36.844
A world where people[br]will try to standardize you,

0:06:37.178,0:06:41.962
a world where you would constantly feel[br]like you are not enough.

0:06:43.336,0:06:45.732
Now finally, you can[br]understand the kind of crap

0:06:45.762,0:06:47.814
I've been dealing with my whole life.

0:06:49.135,0:06:50.864
Welcome to my world.

0:06:51.982,0:06:55.645
It gets on my nerves when people talk[br]about the causes, the "symptoms"

0:06:55.665,0:06:57.533
and the "treatments" of autism.

0:06:57.834,0:07:01.102
I really think that we are[br]going the wrong way.

0:07:01.482,0:07:02.784
We should spend more time

0:07:02.804,0:07:07.596
trying to give people on the spectrum[br]the place they deserve in our society,

0:07:07.624,0:07:10.913
trying to empower them[br]and make them independent.

0:07:11.554,0:07:13.635
Autistic people don't need a cure,

0:07:13.962,0:07:16.882
but they do need appropriate[br]educational approaches

0:07:16.912,0:07:18.771
to grow and flourish.

0:07:19.206,0:07:22.528
They also need their rights[br]to be respected.

0:07:22.913,0:07:27.626
In France, only 20 to 30%[br]of autistic children go to school,

0:07:27.916,0:07:31.363
and a very small number[br]of autistic adults have a job.

0:07:31.653,0:07:36.163
I can't tell you how many exactly,[br]because we don't have the numbers.

0:07:36.193,0:07:39.303
There is not a single study[br]on the subject.

0:07:40.034,0:07:41.196
We don't know either

0:07:41.216,0:07:45.331
how many of us are currently locked up[br]in psychiatric hospitals.

0:07:45.741,0:07:47.160
But, you know,

0:07:47.180,0:07:49.355
one is too many.

0:07:49.900,0:07:54.932
We are doomed to a lifetime[br]of loneliness, poverty and exclusion.

0:07:55.732,0:07:59.126
And it's even more difficult[br]for women on the spectrum.

0:07:59.526,0:08:02.476
When you are at the intersection[br]of autism and gender,

0:08:02.506,0:08:04.494
you experience unique difficulties

0:08:04.514,0:08:07.214
because you are not only[br]the victim of autismophobia;

0:08:07.244,0:08:09.273
you are also the victim of sexism,

0:08:09.303,0:08:12.325
and those two forms[br]of oppression interact together.

0:08:12.666,0:08:14.306
Let me give you an example.

0:08:14.611,0:08:17.803
We are just now starting to realize

0:08:17.833,0:08:21.834
that the diagnostic criteria[br]for autism are gender-biased,

0:08:21.854,0:08:27.243
because they have been established taking[br]into account the behavior of autistic men.

0:08:28.114,0:08:32.444
That and the fact that autism is expressed[br]in a much more subtle way in women

0:08:32.474,0:08:36.612
are the reasons why so many women[br]on the spectrum go undiagnosed

0:08:36.632,0:08:38.496
or are misdiagnosed.

0:08:39.034,0:08:42.798
Kimberlé Crenshaw was the first to come up[br]with the concept of intersectionality

0:08:42.828,0:08:45.156
to reveal the problems[br]faced by black women,

0:08:45.176,0:08:47.154
and she did an amazing TED talk about it.

0:08:47.174,0:08:49.036
So, you should watch it.

0:08:49.454,0:08:51.258
But like, not now, of course.

0:08:51.283,0:08:53.445
This is my big moment.

0:08:55.908,0:08:59.282
I remember meeting a researcher[br]a few months ago.

0:08:59.612,0:09:02.654
She was very excited[br]about the recent discoveries

0:09:02.684,0:09:06.509
on the impact of oxytocin[br]as a treatment for autistic people.

0:09:07.494,0:09:10.353
It seems this treatment[br]allows people on the spectrum

0:09:10.373,0:09:12.512
to socialize better or more.

0:09:13.312,0:09:15.786
I told her that it raised[br]a number of questions

0:09:15.806,0:09:20.894
because if I had been given this treatment[br]and had been pushed to socialize,

0:09:20.924,0:09:23.155
I wouldn't have had time to accomplish

0:09:23.175,0:09:26.546
all the things I've accomplished[br]in the past six years.

0:09:27.394,0:09:28.883
I have a blog,

0:09:28.903,0:09:30.203
a YouTube channel,

0:09:30.233,0:09:33.683
I did my PhD and I published two books.

0:09:33.713,0:09:36.914
So, I don't spend time[br]socializing with my friends,

0:09:36.944,0:09:38.702
but who cares?

0:09:38.722,0:09:40.273
I get things done.

0:09:40.793,0:09:42.083
It doesn't make sense to me

0:09:42.113,0:09:45.067
that people would want me[br]to be less autistic.

0:09:45.092,0:09:49.501
It is because I'm autistic[br]that I am extremely focused,

0:09:49.863,0:09:51.421
resilient,

0:09:51.441,0:09:53.052
hypersensitive,

0:09:53.082,0:09:56.341
and thus very creative, honest,

0:09:56.361,0:09:59.045
and that I have many areas of expertise.

0:09:59.831,0:10:03.173
And yes, I know that[br]my experience is not the same

0:10:03.203,0:10:06.322
as the experience of autistic people[br]who are much more dependent,

0:10:06.342,0:10:07.446
but still,

0:10:07.476,0:10:10.883
I think this type of research[br]raises ethical issues.

0:10:13.229,0:10:18.015
I'd like to live in a world[br]where I can just be myself,

0:10:19.043,0:10:21.335
where my voice matters,

0:10:22.502,0:10:25.617
where I can get[br]the kind of support I need,

0:10:26.561,0:10:30.793
a world where I don't need to be[br]this poster child of autism

0:10:30.823,0:10:32.992
in order to be loved and accepted,

0:10:33.324,0:10:38.332
a world where I don't have to fight[br]stereotypes and discrimination

0:10:38.352,0:10:39.995
every single day.

0:10:40.343,0:10:42.414
This is the world we have to build.

0:10:43.162,0:10:44.372
And in the meantime,

0:10:44.402,0:10:47.073
I'd like to say[br]to my fellow autistic friends

0:10:47.103,0:10:49.927
and to all the people[br]who are different out there:

0:10:50.426,0:10:51.992
you are not a mistake,

0:10:52.924,0:10:56.074
you are not a disease[br]that needs to be cured,

0:10:56.675,0:10:59.375
and you are enough.

0:11:00.504,0:11:01.652
Thank you.

0:11:01.672,0:11:03.691
(Applause)