Comments by "Thurso Berwick" (@thursoberwick1948) on "Do All Autistic People Think The Same? | Spectrum" video.

It's not about validation, it's about picking up on traits you never knew you had. I believe that man is autistic, but not everyone who is self-diagnosed is right. In my case, I turned out to be right, but discovered things later I didn't know about. (I can't speak for you obviously.)
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He's actually very articulate. He puts things better than most of the other people here.
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@happypiano4810 I don't want autism either. The positive side is not enough of a trade off. I have suffered because of it, not just because of bullying and misunderstanding, but because of anxiety and depression. It makes aspects of daily life far harder than thy need be.
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@giackywacky4714 Each to their own. I respect your opinion and experience, and don't doubt them. It was just different for me. I think I had about twenty years of lead in, because I read a book on Aspergers (as it was called back then) back in the nineties. That might have something to do with it. I'm selective with who I tell about my diagnosis.
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@saladmancer4802 Hundreds of thousands, possibly millions, are of British royal descent. Not unusual. It just depends how far back you go.
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She reminds me of a young Winona Ryder (around the turn of the nineties.) I'm afraid I find her hand waving annoyig though.
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@anni1642 Way to bring in a bit of αgιτρrορ. It's not true either. Most of the people round here who are diagnosed tend to be from working class families, and there are very few from higher up, in my experience.
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"Why am I not picking up on sarcasm?" Because you're American. That tends to be a major factor, even when people aren't autistic.
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Doctors change terms all the time, it's common practice. Cynics would say it's a form of job protection. But in the case of Dr Asperger, he was an NSDAP collaborator and the term sounds awful anyway.
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@quinncreel6091 Yes, thank you. I hate how "activism" makes people wonder around with labels on them (sometimes literally). I don't tell most people my diagnosis. I am picky. One or two have been a bit funny when I've told them, but I believe I've avoided most of the folk I shouldn't tell. Except perhaps a stranger on the street who started lecturing me on how his teenage neighbour was probably autistic - I asked if that was an issue for him, and said did he realise I was?
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I had to be put on a two year waiting list, after a lot of nagging. Then I went through at least eight assessments. Some Americans worship the concept of socialised medicine, but this is often the reality. Two years waiting, with no specific date given until near the end. I ended up going with a charity not the NHS as I'd have to have waited even longer. Don't get me wrong, I would never trade the British health service for the American one but it isn't the idol Michael Moore thinks it is.
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@NeilCWCampbell I didn't technically get mine through socalised medicine. I was on a two year waiting list, and the the NHS asked whether I wanted to wait even longer (no date given) or if I would prefer to be assessed by a charity. I popped into the charity to check them out, and they gave me an appointment within a few days. If I had stuck with NHS (socialised medicine) it is possible I could have waited much longer. My assessment was weeks before lockdown in 2020, so it is possible I would have still not had it due to the near disappearance of non-emergency services over most of last year and this spring. When I say two year waiting list - the NHS (socialised medicine) never gave me a date on which it would happen throughout those two years. I thought about it every day, several times a day, wondered if I had missed the appointment etc. This was a form of torture for someone with my mind. If they'd given me a date in advance, I'd understand. So when I was given the chance to go outside socialised medicine, I took it. I didn't pay but it wasn't the NHS. A lot of people on NHS waiting lists just give up or leave. I had to do this with physiotherapy, because they kept me waiting for over a year with no acknowledgement. The NHS is best for accident and emergency. The rest is not so good, especially when this global lockdown is still ongoing.
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@NeilCWCampbell I've already told you the answer. The NHS didn't assess me, and the place I went to doesn't get NHS funding, but is a charity. If I tell you I didn't pay, you'll try and link it to the NHS. All the NHS did was make me wait over two years, and then informed me I could get assessed elsewhere. Like I say, there is a serious possibility I would not have been assessed at all yet if I went with the National Health Service, since Scottish lockdown started in March 2020 and very little non-emergency stuff has been ongoing since then. So my assessment is actually little to do with socialised medicine. I was seeing a private psychotherapist who referred me to a private charity who referred me to the National Health Service who after two years offered me the option of a second private charity. In retrospect, I could have just gone to the second charity and shortened the process (but I had no idea they did assessments). So no I didn't pay, and no it wasn't socialised medicine. If I had paid, I could have shortened the wait by years.
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@NeilCWCampbell Two years or more in normal times. If I factor in referrals before the actual waiting list, then it was probably three and a bit years. If I had stuck with the NHS, the entire process may have taken at least four years (including Covid related restrictions) The screening is a lot more geared towards diagnosing children. I had raised concerns with my local medical practice many years ago and was given antidepressants and anti-anxiety medication. At no point was the issue of autism raised by my doctor. I had to initiate the process entirely by myself which started with my private psychotherapist who referred me to a charity who saw me twice who then referred me to the NHS for a two year waiting list, who then after two years said I could go to a second charity... Socalised medicine is great for some things but not for others. A friend made a suicide attempt in 2019, and had a quick response. Emergencies are well handled, lifetime issues less so. We are probably twenty years behind the USA in picking up mild autism, especially in adults. Even when I was screened, I was asked questions about my early childhood i.e. three and before, which is difficult for most people to remember. The vast majority of autistic people are undiagnosed in Scotland and the UK. If you are over thirty five, you are unlikely to be diagnosed. If you are female, you are also less likely to be diagnosed. Yet I frequently meet older people who appear to have it, but have no idea that they do. And yes, a large number of women. I believe my mother had it, possibly her own mother, and some of her sisters.
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@k-leb4671 The word "animal" is not originally a scientific term. And despite everything we have in common with other species, we also have a lot which makes us different. The fact we can make, watch and understand the concepts in this video is a demonstration of that.
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@nancydiva8798 Your political ideology is not scientific fact.
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Does Joseph write, I wonder? I feel he could probably write decent articles, stories etc. He actually has a way with words.
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Not really. They're trying to make a connection to you. It may not be true, but it is usually well meant
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@Ester Bojsen Haarder Not weird, just a misguided attempt at connection.
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@failedsocialexperiment2382 I don't completely agree with this. There are certain aspects of modern society which - to my mind - have autistic aspects: one of them would be how science is practised, others would include certain etiquette systems, or legal systems... Definitely some technology.
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@druvjuice6906 That's definitely a two sided thing. I believe the self-diagnosed man here is autistic, but that not everyone who claims to be is.
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@MonstehDinosawr "Community" - I've lived for decades with autism, and although I know some others, we do not form a "community". This is one of these godawful terms we misuse these days - a community is a village or suburb where people with very different backgrounds know each other, not an interest group where we have some trait in common but don't know each other. There is no autistic community and it certainly doesn't have a unified voice as this video proves.
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@MonstehDinosawr "Internally ableist" - Your political ideology is not scientific fact. You don't speak for all autistic people. We are individuals - very individualistic in fact - not some interest group for far left extremists to use for their cause.
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A lot of people do rehearse, particularly before a job interview or date, but I think many autistic people probably do it even more.
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@liloruf2838 I think it depends how often. If it's a job interview or asking for a date "normies" do this all the time. I do the other scenario too - rehearsing how I could have said something better.
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@liloruf2838 I've done that myself. But you have to watch it, it can be a mind trap. I've used it in scripts and other written dialogue. If it is something that's not going to do you any good then it's not worth pursuing in your head, and I try to push it out of there.
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@liloruf2838 It's difficult. I did meditation for a while, it helped me understand and control some of my own thought processes. Sometimes I manage to stop certain processes in their tracks or turn it into something creative. It depends if I'm tired or stressed. Sometimes I can deal with it. Sometimes is better than no times.
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@prinniapuff They never do. But one can be partly right.
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@sydney6268 To some extent. It's not uncommon for people to rehearse job interviews or speeches in front of a mirror or a camera. I think it's a matter of degree.
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@sunnyraindrop582 Looks like it's being strung out for years and being used for economic and social reform.
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@ellieragsdale4398 Did people take time to detect your autism? I'm asking because boys seem to get diagnosed more easily. I don't know why this is.
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That's not a handshake though. More a fist bump.
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@yourtrappedinmygenjutsu I was undiagnosed for decades, did I suddenly become autistic during or after my assessment? When it comes to this issue, you should consult specialists, not GPs or whatever you call general doctors in the states.
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@yourtrappedinmygenjutsu I speak to people who've been previously misdiagnosed on a regular basis. There are a lot of them. If one's over 35 and autistic, it's highly unlikely one's been diagnosed. Especially over here where autism screening is primarily for children, and adults have to go through a complex process to initiate it - years in my case.
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@jordyndulle6271 There is no "privilege" in being diagnosed. Away with intersectional garbage.
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@fennelmaloney487 Keep your cultural Marxism off here. Gay and trans people make up a disproportionate number of those diagnosed.
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Ethan Morrill They're trying to connect. In these days when far left "activists" are trying to divide society up into fighting factions, we should try and counter that by not getting offended by such things. It may be wrong, but it's not malicious.
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