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

Prevoditelj: Valentina Kovac Recezent: Sanda L

Autism is something that many people know about.

Autizam je pojam koji je poznat mnogim ljudima.

For example, some people think

Naprimjer, neki ljudi smatraju

that autistic people are fair-skinned males

da su autisti bljedoliki muškarci

that speak in monotone

koji govore monotonim glasom

and constantly go on and on about the same topic.

i stalno vrte jednu te istu temu.

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

Neki ljudi misle da autisti ne razlikuju ispravno od pogrešnog,

avoid attention

izbjegavaju pažnju

and usually say the wrong thing at the wrong time.

i često govore krive stvari u krivo vrijeme.

Some people think that autistic people are socially awkward

Neki ljudi smatraju da se autisti čudno ponašaju

and lack humor and empathy.

te da im nedostaju humor i empatija.

Now if you agree with what I just said,

Ako se slažete s izjavama koje sam upravo naveo,

I'm sorry to tell you,

onda vas moram razočarati

but you do not have the right impression of autism.

da imate lošu predodžbu o autizmu.

How do I know?

Kako to znam?

Because I have autism.

Zato što ja imam autizam.

I do have my own obsessions with things like electronics

I ja sam opčinjen stvarima kao što je elektronika

and public transit,

i javni prijevoz.

but that does not define me.

Ali to me ne definira kao osobu.

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

Svatko od nas je drugačiji i poseban na svoj način.

However, there is not a lot of information out there

No, nema mnogo informacija o tome

on what an autistic life actually looks like,

kako zbilja izgleda život autista.

so people often resort to stereotypes.

Zato se ljudi često okreću stereotipima.

And we see these often in the media.

Često ih vidimo u medijima.

Some of the more common stereotypes in the media

Jedno od najčešćih stereotipa u medijima su

include being socially awkward,

da se ponašamo čudno,

lacking empathy

da nismo empatični

and even being a supergenius.

i da smo genijalci.

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

Ni tu ne staje neznanje o autizmu.

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

Znate li da neki ljudi pokušavaju pronaći lijek za autizam?

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

To je zato što ga vide kao nešto negativno.

as a disease.

Kao bolest.

Many people are challenging the idea

Mnogi ljudi mijenjaju tu zamisao.

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

Za nas autizam nije bolest.

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

To je samo drugačiji pogled na svijet.

Our brains function differently from most people's brains.

Naši mozgovi drukčije funkcioniraju od ostalih.

Think of it like comparing and Xbox and a PlayStation.

To je kao da uspoređujete Xbox i PlayStation.

They're both highly capable consoles with different programming.

Oboje su vrsne konzole samo drugačije programirane.

But if you put your Xbox game in a PlayStation,

Ali ako stavite igricu za Xbox u PlayStation,

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

igrica neće raditi, zato jer PlayStation drugačije funkcionira.

When I look in the mirror,

Kad pogledam u ogledalo,

I see someone who thinks differently.

vidim nekoga tko razmišlja drugačije.

Oh, and I also see nice hair.

Također vidim i krasnu kosu.

(Laughter)

(Smijeh)

(Applause)

(Pljesak)

But the question is,

Ali pitanje je,

am I really diseased if I just think differently?

jesam li ja stvarno bolestan ako samo drugačije razmišljam?

The main problem with living autistic in today's society

Najveći problem autista u današnjem društvu

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

jest da svijet nije stvoren za nas.

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

Puno toga nas može uznemiriti.

For example,

Naprimjer,

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

mene jako uznemiruju glasni zvukovi.

which means I never crank up my music really loud

Dakle nikad ne pojačam glazbu do kraja

and I usually am not a fan of large parties.

i nisam preveliki obožavatelj velikih tuluma.

But other people on the spectrum might get overwhelmed

Ali ostale ljude s autizmom uznemiruju

with things like bright lights or strong smells

jaka svjetla ili snažni mirisi

or gooey textures

ili gnjecave teksture.

that all have the potential to create anxiety.

Sve to lako izaziva anksioznost.

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

Razmislite o svim prijašnjim druženjima.

Was there loud music playing?

Je li svirala glasna glazba?

Were there really bright lights?

Je li svjetlo bilo jako?

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

Je li kružilo mnogo različitih mirisa u isto vrijeme?

Were there lots of conversations happening all at once?

Je li puno ljudi pričalo odjedanput?

Those things may not have bothered you guys,

Takve stvari možda vama ne smetaju,

but for someone with autism,

ali nekoga s autizmom

they can be quite overwhelming.

mogu uznemiriti.

So in those situations, we do something called stimming,

Stoga se u takvim situacijama upuštamo u samostimulirajuće ponašanje.

which is like a repetitive motion or a noise

To je ponavljanje pokreta ili zvuka

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

ili nekog drugog komešanja koje se uvijek ne mora činiti normalnim.

Some people will flap their arms

Neki će mahati rukama,

or make a noise or spin.

proizvoditi zvukove ili vrtjeti.

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

U biti, to je naš način da se isključimo.

It can often feel necessary for us to stim.

Često imamo potrebu za takvim ponašanjem.

However, it's often frowned upon,

No takvo se ponašanje često gleda poprijeko

and we're forced to hide it.

pa smo prisiljeni skrivati ga.

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

Kada smo prisiljeni skrivati naše autistične crte,

it's called masking.

to se naziva prikrivanjem.

And some people mask better than others.

Neki su ljudi bolji u tome od ostalih.

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

Znam se nekad toliko dobro prikriti da ljudi ni ne primijete da sam autist.

until I give them the big reveal. (Laughs)

Dok im sam ne otkrijem tu tajnu.

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

Ali na kraju dana to postaje sve stresnije.

Even something like doing my homework at night

Ponekad čak i rješavanje zadaće

becomes very tiring.

postane umarajuće.

Some people think,

Neki ljudi smatraju

because of our ability to mask,

da je naša sposobnost za prikrivanje

that this is the cure to autism.

i rješenje za sam autizam.

However, all it really does is makes us ashamed

No zbog toga nas je sram

of showing our true selves.

pokazati svoje pravo ja.

Another common stereotype that is often associated with autism

Drugi stereotip koji se često povezuje s autizmom

is that autistic people lack empathy.

jest da autistima nedostaje empatija.

And again, this is not true.

Ponavljam, to nije istina.

I actually have lots of empathy.

Zapravo sam pun suosjećanja.

I'm just not really good at showing it.

Samo nisam dobar u pokazivanju.

Whenever a friend is trying to tell me

Kad god bi prijatelj sa mnom htio podijeliti

some of the struggles that they're going through,

svoje probleme kroz koje prolazi,

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

često se ne bih znao izraziti.

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

I zato ne pokazujem toliko empatije

as my nonautistic friends do.

kao moji prijatelji koji nisu autisti.

Emotional expression, however much or however little,

Bilo kakvo pokazivanje emocija

is difficult for me.

predstavlja mi poteškoću.

And that is because I am bursting inside

To je zato što sam prožet

with every single emotion one feels at all times.

svim emocijama odjednom

Though of course, I cannot express it that way.

koje naravno ne mogu izraziti.

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

Ili na primjer sreća.

would come out as a huge burst of gleeful wheezing,

Ona bi nalikovala na veselo hroptanje,

hand flapping and loud vocal "woohoos."

lamatanje rukama i glasne woohoo zvukove.

(Laughter)

(Smijeh)

Whereas you may just smile.

Dok biste se vi samo nasmiješili.

(Laughter)

(Smijeh)

Whether it be receiving an awesome birthday gift

Kad god bih dobio zakon rođendanski poklon

or listening to a tragic story on the news,

ili gledao tragične vijesti,

I cannot really express my reply without bursting,

ne bih se mogao izraziti bez da planem.

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

Što znači da se opet moram zakamuflirati kako bih se doimao normalnim.

My inner feelings are unlimited,

Moji unutarnji osjećaji su beskonačni.

but my mind only lets me express extremes or nothing.

No moj um mi dopušta ili ekstremno ili nikakvo izražavanje.

So my ...

Dakle...

I am not great with my emotions,

Nisam si baš najbolji s emocijama

and I communicate differently,

i komuniciram na drugačiji način.

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

I zbog toga sam dijagnosticiran s poremećajem autističnog spektra.

This diagnosis helps me and my friends and family

Ta dijagnoza pomaže mojoj obitelji, prijateljima i meni

to know how my mind works.

razumjeti kako moj um funkcionira.

And in the world,

U svijetu

approximately one percent of the population

oko otprilike jedan posto stanovništva

is diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder.

dijagnosticirano je s poremećajem autističnog spektra.

And this number is growing.

I taj postotak raste.

However, we are still a big minority.

No mi smo i dalje u velikoj manjini.

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

I još uvijek nas dosta ljudi ne doživljava ravnopravnima

to other people.

s drugim ljudima.

This is my family.

Ovo je moja obitelj.

And in my family,

I u mojoj obitelji

there is one other person who is also autistic.

postoji još jedna autistična osoba.

My mother.

Moja majka.

Yes, adult women can also be autistic.

Da, odrasle žene isto mogu biti autistične.

My dad and my brother are both nonautistic.

Moj otac i brat nisu autistični.

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

Nekad nam zna međusobna komunikacija teško pasti.

however.

No,

Sometimes I'll say something like,

ponekad znam reći nešto poput,

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

"Stanica Union Station u Torontu, zar ne?"

thinking that I can

misleći da im mogu pomoći

help them to remember certain aspects of it.

prisjetiti se određenih aspekata toga.

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

Kad se zbune, često se moram objašnjavati.

And we often have to say things

I često moramo ponoviti

in a number of different ways so that everyone understands.

nešto na više načina kako bi svi razumjeli.

However, despite all that,

No unatoč svemu tome,

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

svi se volimo i smatramo ravnopravnima.

In his book "NeuroTribes,"

U svojoj knjizi "NeuroTribes"

author Steve Silberman states that autism and other mental conditions

autor Steve Silberman navodi kako bi se autizam i druga mentalna stanja

should be seen as naturally human,

trebala gledati kao prirodno ljudska,

naturally part of a human spectrum

prirodni dijelovi ljudskog spektra,

and not as defects.

a ne kao greške.

And this is something that I agree to completely.

I ja se u potpunosti slažem s time.

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

Kad bi autizam bio dio prirodnog ljudskog spektra,

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

onda bi svijet bio bolje prilagođen ljudima s autizmom.

I am not ashamed of my autism.

Ja se ne sramim svoga autizma.

And I may not think like you,

Možda ne razmišljam

or act like you,

ili se ne ponašam poput vas,

but I am still human and I am not diseased.

ali ja sam i dalje čovjek i nisam bolestan.

Thank you.

Hvala.

(Applause)

(Pljesak)