My Inner Life with Asperger's | Alix Generous | TED Talks

Translator: Antón Barrio Caxide Reviewer: Serv. de Norm. Lingüística U. de Santiago de Compostela

Today, I want to talk to you about dreams.

Hoxe quérovos falar sobre os soños.

I have been a lucid dreamer my whole life,

Toda a miña vida fun unha soñadora lúcida

and it's cooler than in the movies.

e é moito máis guai que nas películas.

(Laughter)

(Risas)

Beyond flying, breathing fire,

Máis aló de voar, cuspir lume pola boca,

and making hot men spontaneously appear ...

e facer que se aparezan homes atractivos

(Laughter)

I can do things like read and write music.

Podo facer cousas como ler e escribir música.

Fun fact is that I wrote my personal statement to college

Como dato curioso, escribín a miña carta persoal para a universidade

in a dream.

nun soño.

And I did accepted. So, yeah.

E fun admitida. Aí o deixo.

I am a very visual thinker.

Son unha pensadora moi visual.

I think in pictures, not words.

Penso en imaxes, non en palabras.

To me, words are more like instincts and language.

Para min, as palabras son unha mestura de instintos e linguaxe.

There are many people like me;

Hai moita xente coma min,

Nikola Tesla, for example,

Nikola Tesla, por exemplo,

who could visualize, design, test, and troubleshoot everything --

podía visualizar, deseñar, comprobar e solucionar todo

all of his inventions -- in his mind, accurately.

—todos os inventos— na súa mente de xeito preciso.

Language is kind of exclusive to our species, anyway.

Aínda así, a linguaxe é algo exclusivo da nosa especie.

I am a bit more primitive,

Eu son algo máis primitiva,

like a beta version of Google Translate.

como a versión beta do Google Translate.

(Laughter)

(Risas)

My brain has the ability to hyper-focus on things that interest me.

O meu cerebro ten a habilidade de centrarse nas cousas que me interesan.

For example, once I had an affair with calculus

Por exemplo, unha vez, tiven un amorío co cálculo

that lasted longer than some celebrity marriages.

que durou máis que algún matrimonio deses dos famosos.

(Laughter)

(Risas)

There are some other unusual things about me.

Teño algunha outra peculiaridade.

You may have noticed that I don't have much inflection

Notariades que non modulo moito a voz.

in my voice.

That's why people often confuse me with a GPS.

É por iso que moita xente me confunde cun GPS.

(Laughter)

(Risas)

This can make basic communication a challenge, unless you need directions.

Isto volve a conversa nun inferno, agás que precises indicacións.

(Laughter)

(Risas)

Thank you.

(Applause)

Grazas.

(Aplausos)

A few years ago, when I started doing presentations,

Hai xa un tempo, cando comecei nisto das charlas,

I went to get head shots done for the first time.

fun sacar fotos por primeira vez.

The photographer told me to look flirty.

A fotógrafa díxome que me puxese provocativa.

(Laughter)

(Risas)

And I had no idea what she was talking about.

Eu non tiña nin idea do que estaba a falar

(Risas)

(Laughter)

She said, "Do that thing, you know, with your eyes,

Díxome: "Fai iso, xa sabes, cos ollos,

when you're flirting with guys."

coma cando ligas cos homes."

"O que?", pregunteille.

"What thing?" I asked.

"You know, squint."

"Xa sabes, entorna os ollos."

And so I tried, really.

E de verdade que o intentei.

It looked something like this.

Asemellábase algo a isto.

(Laughter)

(Risas)

I looked like I was searching for Waldo.

Parecía que buscaba a Wally.

(Laughter)

(Risas)

There's a reason for this,

Existe un motivo para isto,

as there is a reason that Waldo is hiding.

do mesmo xeito que hai un motivo polo que Wally se agocha.

(Laughter)

(Risas)

I have Asperger's,

Teño Asperger, un tipo de autismo de alta funcionalidade

a high-functioning form of autism

that impairs the basic social skills one is expected to display.

que limita as habilidades sociais básicas que se esperan de nós.

It's made life difficult in many ways,

Isto dificultou a miña vida de moitas maneiras,

and growing up, I struggled to fit in socially.

e segundo fun medrando, custábame máis encaixar.

My friends would tell jokes, but I didn't understand them.

Os meus amigos facían bromas que non era capaz de entender.

My personal heroes were George Carlin and Stephen Colbert --

Os meus heroes eran George Carlin e Stephen Colbert --

and they taught me humor.

e eles ensináronme o sentido do humor.

My personality switched from being shy and awkward

A miña personalidade pasou de vergoñenta e torpe

to being defiant and cursing out a storm.

a ser desafiante e xurar coma carreteiro.

Needless to say, I did not have many friends.

Non fai falla engadir que non tiña moitos amigos.

I was also hypersensitive to texture.

Era hipersensible ás texturas.

The feel of water on my skin was like pins and needles,

Sentir auga na miña pel era coma se me cravasen agullas.

and so for years, I refused to shower.

Así é que durante anos negueime a bañarme.

I can assure you that my hygiene routine is up to standards now, though.

De todos xeitos, asegúrolles que a miña hixiene persoal é adecuada agora.

(Laughter)

(Risas)

I had to do a lot to get here, and my parents --

Custoume moito chegar ata aquí, e aos meus pais.

things kind of got out of control when I was sexually assaulted by a peer,

A cousa descontrolouse cando fun agredida sexualmente por un colega,

and on top of everything, it made a difficult situation worse.

e unha situación xa difícil empeorou.

And I had to travel 2,000 miles across the country to get treatment,

Viaxei 3000 quilómetros atravesando o país para recibir tratamento

but within days of them prescribing a new medication,

pero ao pouco de me receitaren unha nova menciña,

my life turned into an episode of the Walking Dead.

a miña vida volveuse un episodio de The Walkind Dead.

I became paranoid, and began to hallucinate

Volvinme paranoica e comecei a ver

that rotting corpses were coming towards me.

corpos putrefactos que viñan cara a min.

My family finally rescued me,

Ao final, a miña familia rescatoume,

but by that time, I had lost 19 pounds in those three weeks,

pero para entón, xa perdera 9 quilos en 3 semanas,

as well as developing severe anemia,

padecía anemia grave

and was on the verge of suicide.

e estaba preto de me suicidar.

I transferred to a new treatment center that understood my aversions,

Cambieime a un novo centro de tratamento que comprendía as miñas aversións,

my trauma, and my social anxiety,

o meu trauma e a miña ansiedade social

e que sabían como tratalas, finalmente recibín a axuda que precisaba.

and they knew how to treat it, and I got the help I finally needed.

And after 18 months of hard work,

E despois de 18 meses de duro traballo

I went on to do incredible things.

comecei a facer cousas incribles.

One of the things with Asperger's is that oftentimes,

Unha das cousas cos Asperger é que a miúdo

these people have a very complex inner life,

son persoas cunha vida interior moi complexa,

and I know for myself, I have a very colorful personality,

e falo por experiencia propia, eu teño unha personalidade moi exuberante,

rich ideas, and just a lot going on in my mind.

teño unha morea de ideas, e moito máis dentro da miña cabeza.

But there's a gap between where that stands,

Pero hai unha diferenza entre onde todo isto ocorre

and how I communicate it with the rest of the world.

e a forma na que eu o comunico ao mundo.

And this can make basic communication a challenge.

Isto dificulta ata a comunicación máis simple.

Non moitos lugares quererían contratarme coa miña falta de habilidades sociais,

Not many places would hire me, due to my lack of social skills,

which is why I applied to Waffle House.

por iso pedín o posto en Waffle House.

(Laughter)

(Risas)

Waffle House is an exceptional 24-hour diner --

Waffle House é un restaurante excepcional aberto as 24 horas

(Laughter)

(Risas)

(Applause)

(Aplausos)

thank you --

Grazas --

where you can order your hash browns

onde podes pedir patacas fritidas

the many ways that someone would dispose of a human corpse ...

de tantas maneiras como un se pode desfacer dun corpo

(Laughter)

(Risas)

Sliced, diced, peppered, chunked, topped, capped, and covered.

En liscos, en dados, sazonadas, en cachos, recubertas, rebozadas e bañadas.

(Laughter)

(Risas)

As social norms would have it,

Como dita a norma,

you should only go to Waffle House at an ungodly hour in the night.

un só debe ir a Waffle House a horas intempestivas.

(Laughter)

(Risas)

So one time, at 2 am, I was chatting with a waitress, and I asked her,

Unha vez, ás 2 da mañá, estaba falando cunha camareira e pregunteille,

"Que é o máis ridículo que che pasou neste traballo?"

"What's the most ridiculous thing that's happened to you on the job?"

And she told me that one time, a man walked in completely naked.

E díxome que unha vez un home entrou completamente espido.

(Laughter)

(Risas)

I said, "Great! Sign me up for the graveyard shift!"

e respondín, "Xenial! Apúntame na quenda de noite"

(Laughter)

(Risas)

Needless to say, Waffle House did not hire me.

Non fai falla dicir que Waffle House non me contratou.

So in terms of having Asperger's, it can be viewed as a disadvantage,

E é porque padecer Asperger pode verse coma unha desvantaxe

and sometimes it is a real pain in the butt,

e ás veces é un encordio

but it's also the opposite.

pero tamén é todo o contrario.

It's a gift, and it allows me to think innovatively.

É un don que me permite pensar de xeito innovador.

At 19, I won a research competition for my research on coral reefs,

Aos 19, gañei un concurso de investigación cun traballo sobre os arrecifes de coral

and I ended up speaking

e acabei falando

at the UN Convention of Biological Diversity,

no Convenio da ONU sobre Diversidade Biolóxica,

presenting this research.

presentando a miña investigación.

(Applause)

(Aplausos)

Thank you.

(Applause)

Grazas.

(Aplausos)

And at 22, I'm getting ready to graduate college,

E con 22 anos, estou a piques de me graduar na universidade

and I am a co-founder of a biotech company called AutismSees.

e son cofundadora dunha empresa chamada AutismSees.

(Applause)

(Aplausos)

Thank you.

Grazas.

(Applause)

(Aplausos)

But consider what I had to do to get here:

Pero pensade no pasei para chegar ata aquí:

25 therapists, 11 misdiagnoses, and years of pain and trauma.

25 terapeutas, 11 diagnósticos erróneos, e anos de dor e trauma.

I spent a lot of time thinking if there's a better way,

Pasei moito tempo pensando se habería algunha solución mellor,

and I think there is: autism-assistive technology.

e eu creo que a hai: tecnoloxía de axuda para o autismo.

This technology could play an integral role

Esta tecnoloxía podería xogar un papel central

in helping people with autistic spectrum disorder,

axudando a xente con trastornos do espectro autista,

or ASD.

ou TEA.

The app Podium, released by my company, AutismSees,

A aplicación Podium, creada pola miña compañía, AutismSees,

has the ability to independently assess and help develop communication skills.

ten a capacidade de avaliar de forma independente

e axudar a desenvolver competencias comunicativas.

In addition to this, it tracks eye contact through camera

Ademais, controla o contacto visual cunha cámara

and simulates a public-speaking and job-interview experience.

simulando un discurso e unha entrevista de traballo.

And so maybe one day, Waffle House will hire me,

Pode que incluso Waffle House acabe por me contratar

after practicing on it some more.

despois dunhas cantas prácticas.

(Laughter)

(Risas)

And one of the great things is that I've used Podium

Unha das cousas positivas é que empreguei Podium

to help me prepare for today, and it's been a great help.

para axudarme no día de hoxe, e foi unha grande axuda.

But it's more than that.

Pero é máis ca iso.

There's more that can be done.

Queda moito por facer.

For people with ASD --

Para a xente con síndrome de Asperger

it has been speculated that many innovative scientists,

—especúlase que o padecen moitos científicos innovadores,

researchers, artists, and engineers have it;

investigadores, artistas, e enxeñeiros;

like, for example, Emily Dickinson, Jane Austen, Isaac Newton, and Bill Gates

por exemplo, Emily Dickinson, Jane Austen, Isaac Newton ou Bill Gates

are some examples.

son algúns exemplos.

But the problem that's encountered

Pero o problema co que nos atopamos

is that these brilliant ideas often can't be shared

é que esas brillantes ideas a miúdo non se poden compartir

if there are communication roadblocks.

se hai problemas de comunicación.

And so, many people with autism are being overlooked every day,

A moitas persoas con autismo ignóranas todos os días,

and they're being taken advantage of.

e aprovéitanse delas.

So my dream for people with autism is to change that,

Por iso, o meu soño para a xente con autismo é cambiar iso,

to remove the roadblocks that prevent them from succeeding.

eliminar os impedimentos que lles dificultan triunfar.

One of the reasons I love lucid dreaming

Un dos motivos polos que adoro soñar esperta

is because it allows me to be free,

é porque me permite ser libre

without judgment of social and physical consequences.

sen xulgar as consecuencias sociais ou físicas.

When I'm flying over scenes that I create in my mind,

Mentres me recreo nas situacións que eu creo na miña mente,

I am at peace.

estou en paz.

I am free from judgment,

Non podo ser xulgada,

and so I can do whatever I want, you know?

entón podo facer o que queira, sabedes?

I'm making out with Brad Pitt, and Angelina is totally cool with it.

Estou saíndo con Brad Pitt e a Angelina tanto lle ten.

(Laughter)

(Risas)

But the goal of autism-assistive technology is bigger than that,

Pero o obxectivo da tecnoloxía de apoio para o autismo vai máis alá,

and more important.

e é máis importante.

My goal is to shift people's perspective

O meu obxectivo é cambiar o punto de vista da xente

of autism and people with higher-functioning Asperger's

sobre o autismo e sobre a xente con Asperger de alta funcionalidade

because there is a lot they can do.

para amosar que hai moitas cousas que poden facer.

I mean, look at Temple Grandin, for example.

Quero dicir, pensade en Temple Grandin, por exemplo.

And by doing so, we allow people to share their talents with this world

E facendo isto, permitimos que a xente comparta o seu talento co mundo

e que o mundo avance.

and move this world forward.

In addition, we give them the courage to pursue their dreams

Ademais, dámoslles o valor para perseguir os seus soños

in the real world, in real time.

no mundo real, en tempo real.

Thank you.

Grazas.

(Applause)

(Aplausos)

Thank you.

Grazas.

(Applause)

(Aplausos)