0:00:09.683,0:00:11.234
Good afternoon.

0:00:11.354,0:00:16.665
Yesterday afternoon, it was the first time[br]I came to Bratislava, Slovakia.

0:00:16.737,0:00:21.717
(Applause)

0:00:21.827,0:00:27.941
I admit I know much less[br]about Bratislava than you do.

0:00:28.657,0:00:34.770
But I can still tell you something[br]about Bratislava and Slovakia.

0:00:35.250,0:00:38.738
Do you know[br]what minorities are in Slovakia?

0:00:39.529,0:00:43.169
Sure you do.[br]But you may not know one.

0:00:43.722,0:00:49.954
Like elsewhere, also in Slovakia,[br]there is a one-percent minority.

0:00:50.174,0:00:53.857
It's an invisible minority.[br]It's a minority of autistic people.

0:00:54.317,0:00:57.330
One percent, a person in one hundred.

0:00:57.450,0:01:02.769
That means, maybe I am not alone in here.

0:01:02.839,0:01:03.979
(Laughter)

0:01:04.039,0:01:10.178
Does anyone else come from country[br]of "Autistan"? If I can call it like that.

0:01:10.298,0:01:18.705
Nobody? Maybe that's the problem.[br]That nobody from "Autistan" is here.

0:01:18.825,0:01:20.578
So where are they?

0:01:21.333,0:01:29.853
For many parents or future parents,[br]the worst is to have a handicapped child.

0:01:30.473,0:01:39.786
Everyone or almost everyone[br]wants to have a "healthy child".

0:01:40.099,0:01:44.278
A normal child.[br]But what does it mean "normal"?

0:01:44.768,0:01:48.498
I have been observing[br]various parents lately.

0:01:48.618,0:01:53.057
And I think that parents[br]who have so-called "normal child"

0:01:53.177,0:01:56.233
they have the most problems.

0:01:56.373,0:02:02.193
(Laughter) (Applause)

0:02:04.593,0:02:06.599
I really feel sorry for them.

0:02:06.689,0:02:08.699
(Laughter)

0:02:08.999,0:02:14.277
I know a psychologist,[br]and she visited me one day.

0:02:14.397,0:02:20.782
I sensed she didn't feel good.

0:02:20.922,0:02:24.942
So I asked her what was wrong,[br]what was going on.

0:02:25.072,0:02:30.663
She replied:[br]"I made a list of all my friends.

0:02:30.783,0:02:34.445
And only two of them are normal."

0:02:34.575,0:02:36.115
(Laughter)

0:02:36.255,0:02:40.503
So, I told her, "That's a good sign.

0:02:41.540,0:02:46.052
And maybe you don't know[br]the two of them so well."

0:02:46.411,0:02:52.181
(Laughter) (Applause)

0:02:54.521,0:02:59.822
I must admit, for my parents[br]my childhood was very hard.

0:03:00.262,0:03:03.425
And it is still hard for them.

0:03:03.786,0:03:06.868
My life began very very badly.

0:03:07.396,0:03:13.399
I was born on the same day and year[br]as Britney Spears.

0:03:13.529,0:03:15.619
(Laughter)

0:03:15.729,0:03:18.207
That is not a good start.

0:03:18.302,0:03:24.652
(Laughter) (Applause)

0:03:26.341,0:03:33.616
Fortunately, this is the only thing[br]Britney and I have in common.

0:03:34.123,0:03:41.902
That proves you shouldn't give[br]money to astrology.

0:03:42.022,0:03:46.013
Obviously, it doesn't work.

0:03:46.133,0:03:48.798
Never mind, that was just a remark.

0:03:48.918,0:03:51.501
My life began badly.

0:03:51.821,0:03:54.031
According to all the prognoses,

0:03:54.151,0:03:58.544
I wasn't supposed to go to school[br]as normal children,

0:03:58.664,0:04:01.491
but rather to a psychiatric hospital.

0:04:01.973,0:04:05.356
Fortunately, it didn't happen.

0:04:05.781,0:04:09.051
For various reasons,[br]I could attend the school.

0:04:09.171,0:04:15.535
I went to school, more or less,[br]but sometimes I spent more time at home.

0:04:16.471,0:04:20.027
One reason why I could go there,

0:04:20.107,0:04:25.507
was that my parents had perfect,[br]I could say Soviet education.

0:04:25.637,0:04:28.537
And they knew all about[br]the Soviet psychiatry.

0:04:28.657,0:04:32.152
When you mention "psychiatry"[br]to my parents,

0:04:32.292,0:04:35.392
they think of the Soviet psychiatry.

0:04:35.522,0:04:40.074
They would never let their son[br]go to such a psychiatric hospital.

0:04:40.194,0:04:46.313
That's why my parents always refused[br]to put me in a psychiatric hospital.

0:04:46.433,0:04:51.280
Eventually, I started attending school.[br]There were various problems.

0:04:51.411,0:04:56.665
As you know, a person[br]who doesn't know what to do in life,

0:04:56.785,0:05:01.759
and who can't do anything better,[br]usually becomes a philosopher.

0:05:01.889,0:05:03.891
And that's what happened.

0:05:04.036,0:05:10.576
(Laughter) (Applause)

0:05:12.444,0:05:16.263
I have to admit that my troubles continue.

0:05:17.112,0:05:23.586
It was a year ago, American intelligence[br]published a report which said

0:05:23.756,0:05:29.159
that the head of the Russian federation,[br]Vladimir Putin, is autistic.

0:05:30.057,0:05:33.142
Some days I don't dare to go outside.

0:05:33.282,0:05:34.792
(Laughter)

0:05:34.912,0:05:37.352
I don't know how it is in Slovakia,

0:05:37.472,0:05:43.000
but in France, the politicians often[br]call each other autistic as an offence.

0:05:43.120,0:05:48.535
I don't know what will happen to me[br]if somebody confuses me with a politician?

0:05:48.655,0:05:53.997
Moreover, I find it very offending[br]to consider me a politician.

0:05:54.103,0:05:59.583
(Laughter) (Applause)

0:06:00.339,0:06:05.671
So, I was able to learn some things.

0:06:06.108,0:06:09.445
But there are still many things[br]I cannot do.

0:06:09.917,0:06:14.066
For example, I cannot tie a tie.

0:06:14.705,0:06:19.414
I have troubles tying my shoe-laces.

0:06:19.534,0:06:24.870
I think you can have Ph.D.[br]in three-dimensional geometry

0:06:24.990,0:06:27.766
and not be able to tie your shoe-laces.

0:06:27.886,0:06:30.080
I know such people.

0:06:30.479,0:06:36.198
There are people who got Nobel prize,[br]but they cannot say "Good morning".

0:06:36.318,0:06:40.982
Because that's a social skill[br]that is not natural.

0:06:41.102,0:06:43.511
It has to be learnt.

0:06:43.973,0:06:46.310
Sometimes it is possible, gradually.

0:06:46.430,0:06:49.237
We should try to make it possible.

0:06:49.357,0:06:52.438
But I have troubles that are even worse.

0:06:52.558,0:06:55.246
I have troubles with talking.

0:06:55.819,0:06:58.501
I learnt to talk very late.

0:06:58.731,0:07:07.172
I was six when I made the first sounds[br]that my parents could understand.

0:07:07.292,0:07:15.790
Only later, my autistic dialect[br]was comprehensible for others, too.

0:07:17.022,0:07:19.575
When I am in Slovakia,[br]I have an advantage.

0:07:19.695,0:07:25.138
When I speak strangely,[br]people think "he's speaking Czech".

0:07:25.238,0:07:31.148
(Laughter) (Applause)

0:07:32.310,0:07:39.661
I have spent a weekend[br]in the Czech Republic few times.

0:07:39.781,0:07:45.435
When I speak strangely there,[br]people think it's because I am French.

0:07:45.565,0:07:47.795
(Laughter)

0:07:48.455,0:07:51.741
But in France it is the worst.

0:07:52.396,0:07:56.371
What do they think there?[br]They think I am Swiss.

0:07:56.601,0:07:59.071
(Laughter)

0:07:59.251,0:08:03.565
But it is even worse in Belgium.

0:08:03.685,0:08:07.229
Maybe you ask why?

0:08:07.349,0:08:10.291
In Belgium, there was a famous politician.

0:08:10.411,0:08:13.965
I won't mention his name,[br]he has died recently.

0:08:14.085,0:08:17.196
And this politician spoke[br]in the same way as me.

0:08:17.580,0:08:19.862
But why did he speak like this?

0:08:19.982,0:08:21.691
Because he was an alcoholic.

0:08:21.911,0:08:24.770
He was a heavy drinker.

0:08:24.890,0:08:28.483
That's why many people in Belgium think[br]that I drink, too.

0:08:28.623,0:08:30.603
(Laughter)

0:08:31.033,0:08:34.574
Because of that,[br]when I get lost in Brussels,

0:08:34.684,0:08:38.254
I can't ask a policeman for directions.

0:08:38.424,0:08:40.847
He would take me to the police station.

0:08:40.967,0:08:42.993
Well, I have various problems.

0:08:43.659,0:08:46.385
But do you know what's the irony?

0:08:46.505,0:08:51.691
As someone[br]who has troubles with talking,

0:08:51.961,0:08:54.897
who learnt to speak very late,

0:08:55.017,0:08:59.778
and who has a strange[br]geographically non-specific accent,

0:08:59.898,0:09:07.089
the only job I ever have had[br]was little job in a radio for over a year.

0:09:07.209,0:09:09.970
As you can see, life is ironic.

0:09:10.111,0:09:16.501
(Laughter) (Applause)

0:09:17.942,0:09:22.794
Last ten years,[br]I have been something like an artist.

0:09:22.914,0:09:29.654
I go to cities and towns,[br]and I talk about autism.

0:09:29.774,0:09:34.022
And also about non-autism[br]which is more serious form.

0:09:34.142,0:09:37.414
And about handicap as such.

0:09:37.707,0:09:43.877
During these ten years,[br]I had a chance to see a lot of people.

0:09:43.997,0:09:47.128
I have met many many people.

0:09:47.248,0:09:54.006
Ten or fifteen years ago,[br]my sister bought me a mobile phone.

0:09:54.126,0:09:55.832
It never rang.

0:09:56.212,0:10:00.151
I was lucky, because I don't like it.

0:10:00.271,0:10:06.855
But now, it seems there isn't[br]enough space for new contacts.

0:10:07.305,0:10:09.031
Things change.

0:10:09.151,0:10:13.062
During those ten years,[br]I met many non-autistic people.

0:10:13.182,0:10:17.992
And I saw that they have problems,[br]lots of problems.

0:10:18.792,0:10:21.716
For example, as we heard this morning,

0:10:21.806,0:10:26.466
some non-autistic people[br]have big problems with infidelity.

0:10:27.266,0:10:31.927
They solve such things for hours[br]or their entire life.

0:10:33.081,0:10:39.271
Other non-autistic people watch a film,[br]by the way, I have never watched it,

0:10:39.381,0:10:46.671
a film about some shark,[br]and they think that sharks are dangerous.

0:10:46.771,0:10:50.614
Only because of the film.[br]I didn't watch it, so I don't know.

0:10:50.734,0:10:54.908
Sometimes even worse problems occur.

0:10:55.038,0:11:00.135
Recently, I have met a French writer.

0:11:00.255,0:11:05.047
She gave me her latest novel.

0:11:05.167,0:11:09.246
I read it,[br]although I usually don't read novels.

0:11:09.366,0:11:14.545
Because why should one read[br]about things that are not true?

0:11:14.645,0:11:16.045
(Laughter)

0:11:16.145,0:11:18.007
So, I read the novel.

0:11:18.137,0:11:22.187
(Applause)

0:11:22.304,0:11:24.310
I was really confused.

0:11:24.430,0:11:30.902
Because the woman in the book[br]has a new problem on every page.

0:11:31.032,0:11:33.342
(Laughter)

0:11:33.442,0:11:38.377
For example, on one page[br]she talks about a party she went to.

0:11:38.487,0:11:43.553
By the way, I would like to know,[br]why non-autistic people go to parties.

0:11:43.633,0:11:46.553
It seems it is like that.

0:11:46.623,0:11:53.750
So the woman was at a party yesterday,[br]and she said something to somebody.

0:11:53.870,0:12:02.998
And the whole chapter she is thinking[br]about what that person thought about it.

0:12:03.124,0:12:05.734
(Laughter)

0:12:05.828,0:12:10.668
(Applause)

0:12:11.298,0:12:17.461
In the next chapter,[br]she says how she put a polo neck on,

0:12:17.571,0:12:19.141
(Laughter)

0:12:19.241,0:12:22.150
and what could others think about that.

0:12:23.141,0:12:29.152
I would give this woman[br]a little piece of advice.

0:12:29.739,0:12:35.156
Dear writer, in order to have[br]better and calmer life,

0:12:35.551,0:12:38.998
I advise you to become autistic.

0:12:39.086,0:12:41.140
(Laughter)

0:12:41.230,0:12:45.800
(Applause)

0:12:46.620,0:12:49.302
It would definitely help you.

0:12:49.422,0:12:55.877
I have met all kinds of people.

0:12:55.997,0:13:00.054
Some people in this world are so strange

0:13:00.174,0:13:07.925
that if there was a film about their lives[br]I think no one would believe it.

0:13:08.592,0:13:14.277
Everyone would think it's just[br]another senseless Hollywood film.

0:13:15.671,0:13:20.163
For example, I have a friend

0:13:20.283,0:13:25.375
who remembers everything[br]that ever occurred to him,

0:13:25.495,0:13:27.984
and everything he did or heard.

0:13:28.104,0:13:33.155
He remembers the phone number[br]of a hotel in California

0:13:33.215,0:13:36.525
where he stayed 25 years ago.

0:13:36.615,0:13:45.492
He knows that on 11th January 1985[br]it was snowing until 11 pm.

0:13:45.612,0:13:52.293
He remembers the exact temperature[br]that day in Bratislava and New York.

0:13:52.413,0:13:57.677
And if share prices increased[br]or dropped that day.

0:13:58.257,0:14:02.043
I have another friend,[br]maybe you heard his name.

0:14:02.163,0:14:04.232
His name is Daniel Tammet.

0:14:04.352,0:14:10.949
He is an Englishman[br]who learnt Icelandic in less than a week.

0:14:11.664,0:14:12.857
Why not.

0:14:13.329,0:14:15.309
(Laughter)

0:14:15.389,0:14:20.159
(Applause)

0:14:21.099,0:14:27.597
I always advise to my students,[br]especially before exams,

0:14:27.677,0:14:35.837
to study in an autistic manner[br]which is sometimes quite effective.

0:14:35.957,0:14:42.252
I may sound ironic,[br]but the truth is that people think

0:14:42.372,0:14:49.244
that abnormal children, suppose autistic,[br]belong to special schools.

0:14:49.898,0:14:58.268
In special schools,[br]everything is on lesser level.

0:14:58.388,0:15:03.448
They learn just the basics[br]to see if they can learn it.

0:15:03.568,0:15:08.312
For example one plus one,[br]nothing too difficult.

0:15:09.062,0:15:17.436
But autistic children have maybe[br]the same abilities as non-autistic.

0:15:17.556,0:15:23.084
And maybe in some areas[br]they are even smarter.

0:15:23.404,0:15:30.220
Imagine you are a teacher,[br]and there is a Japanese boy in your class.

0:15:30.520,0:15:34.107
If you speak Slovak with him[br]he won't understand.

0:15:34.537,0:15:36.940
Does it mean he is stupid?

0:15:37.060,0:15:41.580
No, it means[br]he thinks in a different way.

0:15:41.700,0:15:48.973
If you explain the subject matter[br]in his way, he may understand everything.

0:15:49.093,0:15:55.629
He may even understand more[br]than other "normal" children.

0:15:55.989,0:15:58.008
I have a curious experience.

0:15:58.268,0:16:03.704
During my first years[br]at elementary school,

0:16:03.824,0:16:07.592
none of my classmates[br]wanted to sit next to me.

0:16:07.912,0:16:11.585
They didn't want to ruin their reputation.

0:16:11.705,0:16:15.690
Reputation is very important[br]for non-autistic people.

0:16:16.563,0:16:20.580
Later, things changed.

0:16:21.374,0:16:32.447
When I was 16 or 17, lots of my classmates[br]wanted to sit next to me.

0:16:32.567,0:16:35.779
Especially before math exams.

0:16:36.919,0:16:40.293
I didn't quite understand why.

0:16:40.413,0:16:47.839
Now, I will tell you one thing, a story.

0:16:48.157,0:16:54.456
In the USA, there is a man[br]called Stephen Shore.

0:16:54.576,0:17:04.048
As an autistic child,[br]Stephen Shore had lot of troubles.

0:17:04.167,0:17:06.838
He was a "tough nut".

0:17:07.158,0:17:13.820
I also tough it out, especially during[br]Christmas when I eat a lot of chocolate.

0:17:13.941,0:17:19.970
It was in 1970s,[br]and according to the experts,

0:17:20.089,0:17:25.230
little Stephen wasn't supposed to learn[br]even the easiest things.

0:17:25.599,0:17:32.118
Parents were advised to put him[br]into a psychiatric hospital,

0:17:32.238,0:17:37.706
forget about him and make another baby,[br]if I can say it like that.

0:17:38.166,0:17:41.459
But Stephen is now an adult.

0:17:41.579,0:17:49.646
And he has done a lot[br]for autism awareness in the USA.

0:17:49.966,0:17:55.424
Stephen is a professor[br]at Boston University, if I'm not wrong.

0:17:55.704,0:18:00.207
In 2008, he came to Paris.

0:18:00.327,0:18:05.856
I was very nervous,[br]and I had little social skills.

0:18:05.976,0:18:10.335
At the end of his lecture somebody asked:

0:18:10.625,0:18:16.416
"Dear Sir, you are married.[br]Why don't you have any children?"

0:18:16.536,0:18:19.518
Quite an indiscreet question, isn't it?

0:18:19.712,0:18:28.262
Stephen replied with his unique[br]sense of humor and the only way he could:

0:18:28.522,0:18:33.975
"My wife and I decided[br]that we won't have children.

0:18:34.095,0:18:41.729
Because there is a certain risk[br]that our future child won't be autistic."

0:18:41.870,0:18:43.547
Thank you.

0:18:43.629,0:18:50.831
(Applause)