What it's really like to have autism | Ethan Lisi

Translator: Silvia Miguélez Reviewer: Mario Cal

O autismo é algo que moitas persoas coñecen.

Por exemplo, algúns pensan

Autism is something that many people know about.

que as persoas autistas son homes de pel clara

que falan dun xeito monótono

For example, some people think

e non paran de falar do mesmo tema.

that autistic people are fair-skinned males

Algúns pensan que as persoas autistas non saben o que é bo ou malo,

that speak in monotone

and constantly go on and on about the same topic.

evitan a atención

e adoitan dicir a cousa incorrecta no momento incorrecto.

Some people think that autistic people do not know right from wrong,

Algúns pensan que as persoas autistas son torpes socialmente

avoid attention

and usually say the wrong thing at the wrong time.

e fáltalles humor e empatía.

Some people think that autistic people are socially awkward

Agora, se estades de acordo co que acabo de dicir,

sinto dicirvos

and lack humor and empathy.

que non tedes a impresión correcta do autismo.

Now if you agree with what I just said,

Como o sei?

Porque teño autismo.

I'm sorry to tell you,

but you do not have the right impression of autism.

Teño as miñas propias obsesións con cousas coma a electrónica

How do I know?

Because I have autism.

e o transporte público,

pero iso non me define.

I do have my own obsessions with things like electronics

Cada un de nós somos diferentes e únicos ao noso xeito.

and public transit,

Sen embargo, non hai moita información aí fóra

but that does not define me.

Each of us are different and unique in our own way.

de como é realmente a vida dun autista

polo que a xente recorre a miúdo aos estereotipos.

However, there is not a lot of information out there

E vemos isto con frecuencia nos medios.

on what an autistic life actually looks like,

Algúns dos estereotipos máis comúns dos medios

so people often resort to stereotypes.

inclúen ser inadaptados socialmente,

And we see these often in the media.

carecer de empatía,

Some of the more common stereotypes in the media

e mesmo ser un superxenio.

include being socially awkward,

E a falta de coñecementos sobre o autismo tampouco queda alí.

lacking empathy

and even being a supergenius.

Sabíades que algunhas persoas intentan atopar unha cura para o autismo?

And the lack of knowledge on autism doesn't stop there either.

Iso é porque o ven coma algo negativo,

coma unha enfermidade.

Did you know that some people are trying to find a cure for autism?

Moita xente está a cuestionar esa idea

e para nós, o autismo non é unha enfermidade.

That's because they see it as a negative thing,

as a disease.

É só outra forma de pensar e ver o mundo.

Many people are challenging the idea

and to us, we think autism is not a disease.

O noso cerebro funciona de xeito diferente ao da maioría.

It's just another way of thinking and looking at the world.

Pensade que é coma comparar unha Xbox cunha PlayStation.

Ambas son consolas moi capaces con diferente programación.

Our brains function differently from most people's brains.

Pero se poñedes o voso xogo de Xbox nunha PlayStation,

Think of it like comparing and Xbox and a PlayStation.

They're both highly capable consoles with different programming.

non funcionará, porque a PlayStation se comunica dun xeito diferente.

But if you put your Xbox game in a PlayStation,

it won't work, because the PlayStation communicates differently.

Cando me miro no espello,

vexo a alguén que pensa doutro xeito.

Ah, e tamén vexo un bonito cabelo.

(Risas)

(Aplausos)

When I look in the mirror,

I see someone who thinks differently.

Oh, and I also see nice hair.

(Laughter)

Pero a pregunta é,

(Applause)

estou realmente enfermo se só penso diferente?

But the question is,

O principal problema de vivir con autismo na sociedade actual

am I really diseased if I just think differently?

é que o mundo simplemente non está feito para nós.

Hai tantas formas nas que podemos agoniarnos.

The main problem with living autistic in today's society

Por exemplo,

is that the world just isn't built for us.

o que me angustia todo o tempo son os ruídos fortes,

There's so many ways that we can get overwhelmed.

o que significa que nunca poño a música moi alta

For example,

the thing that makes me overwhelmed all the time is loud noises,

e que normalmente non aprecio as festas grandes.

Pero outras persoas no espectro poderíanse agoniar

which means I never crank up my music really loud

and I usually am not a fan of large parties.

con cousas coma luces brillantes ou cheiros fortes,

ou texturas pegañentas.

But other people on the spectrum might get overwhelmed

Todas elas teñen o potencial de xerar ansiedade.

with things like bright lights or strong smells

Pensade en todas as reunións sociais nas que estivestes no pasado.

or gooey textures

that all have the potential to create anxiety.

Había música alta?

Think about all of the social gatherings you've been to in the past.

Había luces realmente fortes?

E moitos cheiros de comida diferentes ao mesmo tempo?

Was there loud music playing?

Ou moitas conversas á vez?

Were there really bright lights?

Were there lots of different food smells going on at the same time?

Quizais esas cousas non vos molestaran,

pero para alguén con autismo,

Were there lots of conversations happening all at once?

poden ser bastante agoniantes.

Those things may not have bothered you guys,

Asi que nestas situacións facemos algo chamado autoestimulación,

but for someone with autism,

they can be quite overwhelming.

que é coma un movemento repetitivo ou un ruído,

So in those situations, we do something called stimming,

ou algún outro movemento aleatorio que pode parecer normal ou non.

which is like a repetitive motion or a noise

Algunhas persoas baten os brazos,

or some other random fidgeting that may or may not seem normal.

ou fan ruído, ou xiran.

Si, é basicamente a nosa forma de desconectar.

Some people will flap their arms

or make a noise or spin.

A miúdo podemos sentir a necesidade de estimularnos.

Sen embargo, a miúdo está mal visto,

Ya, it's basically our way of zoning out.

e vémonos obrigados a ocultalo.

It can often feel necessary for us to stim.

Cando nos vemos obrigados a ocultar así os nosos trazos autistas

However, it's often frowned upon,

chámase enmascarar.

and we're forced to hide it.

E algunhas persoas enmascáranse mellor que outras.

When we're forced to hide our autistic traits like this,

Eu enmascaro tan ben ás veces que a xente nin sabe que son autista

it's called masking.

And some people mask better than others.

ata que lles fago a gran revelación. (Risas)

I mask so well sometimes that people don't even know I'm autistic

Pero ao cabo é moi estresante.

until I give them the big reveal. (Laughs)

Mesmo algo como facer os deberes pola noite

vólvese moi cansado.

But at the end of the day, it gets really stressful.

Algunhas persoas cren que,

Even something like doing my homework at night

porque poidamos enmascarar,

becomes very tiring.

que esa é a cura do autismo.

Some people think,

Sen embargo, o único que fai é darnos vergoña

de mostrar o noso verdadeiro eu.

because of our ability to mask,

that this is the cure to autism.

However, all it really does is makes us ashamed

Outro estereotipo común que está a miúdo asociado co autismo

of showing our true selves.

é que as persoas autistas non teñen empatía.

Another common stereotype that is often associated with autism

E de novo, isto non é verdade.

De feito teño moita empatía.

is that autistic people lack empathy.

Só que non son moi bo expresándoa.

And again, this is not true.

Cando un amigo intenta contarme

algunhas das dificultades que lle están a pasar,

I actually have lots of empathy.

I'm just not really good at showing it.

moitas veces non sei como expresar a miña resposta.

Whenever a friend is trying to tell me

E por iso non amoso tanta empatía

some of the struggles that they're going through,

como os meus amigos non autistas.

I often don't know how to express my reply.

A expresión emocional, por moita ou pouca que sexa,

And that is why I don't show as much empathy

as my nonautistic friends do.

é difícil para min.

E iso é porque estou a rebentar por dentro

Emotional expression, however much or however little,

con todas as emocións posibles, en todo momento.

is difficult for me.

Aínda que, por suposto, non podo expresarme asi.

And that is because I am bursting inside

with every single emotion one feels at all times.

Se non, digamos, a felicidade por exemplo,

sairía coma unha explosión enorme de alegres arquexos,

Though of course, I cannot express it that way.

aleteo de mans e ruidosos “Hurras”.

Otherwise, let's say, happiness, for example,

(Risas)

would come out as a huge burst of gleeful wheezing,

Mentres que vós se cadra só sorrides.

(Risas)

hand flapping and loud vocal "woohoos."

(Laughter)

Xa sexa ao recibir un fantástico agasallo de aniversario,

Whereas you may just smile.

(Laughter)

ou cando escoito unha historia tráxica nas noticias,

Whether it be receiving an awesome birthday gift

non podo expresar a miña resposta sen estoupar,

or listening to a tragic story on the news,

asi que unha vez máis, teño que enmascarala para parecer normal.

I cannot really express my reply without bursting,

Os meus sentimentos interiores son ilimitados,

so once again, I have to mask it in order to appear normal.

pero a miña mente só me deixa expresar extremos ou nada.

My inner feelings are unlimited,

Asi que as miñas...

but my mind only lets me express extremes or nothing.

Non son moi bo coas miñas emocións,

e comunícome dun xeito diferente,

So my ...

e por iso me diagnosticaron un trastorno do espectro autista.

I am not great with my emotions,

and I communicate differently,

Este diagnóstico axúdanos aos meus amigos e familia, e a min,

and because of that, I was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder.

a saber como funciona a miña mente.

This diagnosis helps me and my friends and family

E no mundo,

aproximadamente o 1% da poboación

to know how my mind works.

está diagnosticado de trastorno do espectro autista.

E este número está a medrar.

And in the world,

approximately one percent of the population

Sen embargo, seguimos sendo unha gran minoría.

is diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder.

E aínda hai moita xente que non nos ve coma iguais

And this number is growing.

ao resto das persoas.

However, we are still a big minority.

Esta é a miña familia.

And there's still lots of people that do not see us as equals

E na miña familia,

to other people.

hai outra persoa que é tamén autista.

This is my family.

A miña nai.

And in my family,

Si, as mulleres adultas tamén poden ser autistas.

there is one other person who is also autistic.

O meu pai e o meu irmán non son autistas.

My mother.

Yes, adult women can also be autistic.

Ás veces pode sernos un pouco difícil comunicarnos entre nós.

My dad and my brother are both nonautistic.

Ás veces digo algo como,

Sometimes it can be a bit difficult for us to communicate with each other,

“Ah, a estación de tren de Toronto, verdade?”

pensando que podo

however.

Sometimes I'll say something like,

axudarlles a lembrar certos aspectos dela.

"Oh, Toronto's Union Station, right?"

Cando están confusos, adoito ter que explicalo máis.

thinking that I can

help them to remember certain aspects of it.

E a miúdo temos que dicir as cousas

When they get confused, I often have to elaborate myself on that.

de varios xeitos diferentes para que todos as entendan.

Pero pese a todo isto,

And we often have to say things

todos nos queremos e respectamos coma iguais.

in a number of different ways so that everyone understands.

No seu libro “NeuroTribos”,

However, despite all that,

o autor Steven Silberman di que o autismo e outras condicións mentais

we all love each other and respect each other as equals.

In his book "NeuroTribes,"

deberían verse coma naturais,

author Steve Silberman states that autism and other mental conditions

unha parte natural do espectro humano,

e non coma defectos.

should be seen as naturally human,

E isto é algo co que estou completamente de acordo.

naturally part of a human spectrum

Se o autismo se vise coma parte dun espectro humano natural,

and not as defects.

And this is something that I agree to completely.

entón o mundo podería estar mellor deseñado para as persoas autistas.

If autism was seen as part of a natural human spectrum,

Non me avergoño do meu autismo.

then the world could be designed to work better for autistic people.

E pode que non pense coma vós,

ou actúe coma vós,

I am not ashamed of my autism.

pero sigo sendo humano e non estou enfermo.

And I may not think like you,

Grazas.

(Aplausos)

or act like you,

but I am still human and I am not diseased.

Thank you.

(Applause)