through the eyes of Autsim.What Autism feels likes

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so i found a bunch of videos on what it is like to have autism that are basicly designed to simulate or explain autism and wanted others thoughts on them


WARNING!! !! videos may cause sensory overload! or be a trigger


[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M20DIK1Yt3A[/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KmDGvquzn2k[/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Stq_fqKqF74[/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IcS2VUoe12M[/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IJUNcWkUhfI[/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=plPNhooUUuc[/youtube]

http://vimeo.com/52193530

please feel free to add to this what are your thoughts?

Is it that difficult for NTs to know what autism feels like... Now I don't think that I want them to know because maybe it's so difficult to them that we will give up trying to understand us or at least, have patience with us...

The only one that I could relate to, or at least the one that I thought conveyed what I experience the best, was the last youtube video posted.

The sounds weren't too over exaggerated, but it got the point across when in contrast with the first bit that was in a "NT's" shoes, faintly hearing sounds but tuned out. In comparison to the way all the sounds are more or less at the same level for the ASD part , none of them being tuned out. Another aspect that was conveyed nicely was the visual distractions. I'm constantly being distracted by different textures/colors/objects in my field of vision, so my head/eyes are usually moving about constantly observing and taking in different things. Throw lots of sound into the mix and it's a lot for me to take in sometimes.

I do have sensitivity to light as well....though I thought the over exposure in the clip was a bit more than what I actually experience. Light does tend to be rather intense for me though.





Usually lots of sensory input in real life situations won't throw me into a meltdown or anything, but it does make talking, listening, and thinking difficult. As well as drains me of energy pretty quickly, and generally makes me stressed. So as long as I don't have to talk or listen to anyone, and as long as I have a place to rest, I can typically deal with settings that have a lot of sensory input going on relatively well (for relatively short periods of time ) . It really depends on the setting though...a show with loud music that I'm into and lots of lights, that's fine because I enjoy the music and I don't have to do anything but listen and/or dance. Even then I can't hang in those settings as long as most people, I need frequent breaks from the loud music otherwise I become drained and tired really quickly. But in a shopping mall, or a busy down town center, or a big sports game, those sorts of settings overwhelm me and and I find them to be "abrasive" settings.

I'm not sure what you mean by is it that difficult? Are you asking if it is so difficult they need videos to help simulate it? Then yes but honestly I think it is a good thing for them to have a simulation, for them to experience it a bit it will help them understand more then remembering a bunch of facts and it helps them sympathies better then just by reading what we on the spectrum tell them, it also helps the, learn.

I found the first and last videos best conveyed how my Aspergers affects my perception of the world. The last one especially was interesting because it showed me what the world is like for NT's. I would give anything to live in a sensory world as quiet and peaceful as that! I never really appreciated just how bad my sensory issues were, but then I've lived with them for 50 Years

Me too. It the NT simulation an exaggeration? If any NTs view this thread: is walking down a crowded city street really peaceful like that for you? Can you filter background noise as well as that? That sounds almost like the white noise I play when I'm going to sleep. The ASD simulation, in that last video, was very close to my experience of walking down a busy street too.

I just played that last video to my wife, and she was shocked that I have to go through that every day. She was surprised that I can actually hear the sound of the car tyres on the tarmac as they go past! I always assumed that everyone could hear that

She also confirmed that the NT bit is an accurate portrayal of what it is like for her to walk down the street (I'm so jealous of that).

Its kinda upset me a bit realising just what I'm missing out on because of my Aspergers in terms of peace and quiet.

The vid that described what it is like to be an NT is no joke. I could walk through downtown Toronto/Chicago during rush hour traffic, and not be overstimulated. I would hear and see things but not be bothered by them.

I could tune out a nuclear blast.

The last video is accurate for me with Aspergers.

I was going to ask if it was accurate for NT's but I see two people have responded. Thanks for that guys.

When I walk down a street with my female friend, she just chats away constantly. I have to ask her to repeat herself because of road noise, I can't pick up her words. And when I'm talking, I'll stop talking while a noisy truck goes past so that my words can be heard. Apparently she doesn't hear the truck, oh dear.

I would have given so much to have the ability to filter background from foreground noise tonight. My half-sister;s birthday party was at a restaurant downtown. Although my dad assured me it would be quiet, the place was really crowded and noisy and there were seven people at our table and many conversations going at once. I didn't initiate any conversation but did try hard to respond appropriately when someone spoke to me. More often than not I lost track of what my conversational partner was saying and just nodded and half smiled and stared at them like a vacuous ninny. What I hate the most is that I look like an idiot, like I can't converse intelligently when I can't filter out background noise enough to follow what someone is saying. Even reading the menu was a problem, I couldn't concentrate on it and kept thinking the dish described below the dish I was ordering was actually a part of that first dish. My brother-in-law ended up ordering for me in the end.

Personally I couldn’t relate all that much to these videos.
The first video is correct in saying that noises (including but not limited to other conversations nearby) will make it hard or even impossible to hear what someone is saying. But all noise is not equal (to me at least) and is not heard equally strong, and the video failed to make the sounds drown out the voice.
The second video made no sense to me at all. I’ve never had any problems like those expressed by that girl.
The third made no sense to me at all.
The fourth video got the point across well but I’m not at all bothered by the noise of the city or the sounds heard in shops so I can’t relate here.
The fifth didn’t make any sense to me.
The sixth video is also only partially relatable to me. I have some problems with sun reflected on white surfaces but not to the extent she seems to have. I get what she means by how differences can be distracting but I’m not distracted to the degree she is, and at times I don’t even notice it (if I’m in my own thoughts, preoccupied with where I’m going, or busy with someone, for instance).

The last video was the closest to what I experience. I especially liked the exclamation poits after the word green. I get really drawn into plants and they help ground me when I'm overstimulated. I felt like that part was good at showing how something can be both inconveniently distracting but also exciting and/or relieving when walking down the street. The one in the grocery store was good at comunicating the noise level and the sence of motion sickness I experience, but my vision doesn't quite do the same thing and I couldn't watch the clip all the way through. I liked how the second one emphasized our personhood, but I'm not certain if a nerotypical would take from that anything like what I experience. I could relate to parts, but it wasn't literally close to what I see or feel. I agree that the first one isn't accurate (for me, anyway) in saying that all noises are of equal volume. Maybe if they were at different volumes a nerotypical would automatically filter some ou and it wouldn't be effective at all? It also doesn't show how voices become distorted at all and it would be more efectiveifitincluded other sences. I didn't relate tothe other videos at all, especially with the music in some of them which took the edge off the brightness, and gave something to focus on.

I don't remember sounds being a terrible problem for me. Rather, I had many more visual and tactile overstimulations. I would get extremely confused in large, busy places due to the visual activity, and my inability to distinguish faces and places. I would get very perturbed by climate/temperature and any tactile issues regarding ill-fitting or ill-feeling clothing. I think those are things that are more difficult to capture in a video.

I am much better at being able to focus and filter now. What has helped me: Practice, practice, practice!

I guess I can add another fairly NT response for what it's worth. With regards to the last video that most people are commenting on, I relate best to the first part (NT) as far as visual perception is concerned. That bit of road is a very good representation of what I see when I walk down the street.

As for noise, I'm a bit stuck somewhere between each version. To me the first NT part is too quiet. As in the comment above, I find it hard to converse if there's a lot of traffic passing by and I think I have mild auditory processing difficulties. However, I don't experience the extremes of the spectrum version either. I certainly never feel "over" stimulated even if maybe noise/chaos can make me a bit tetchy at times. What confuses me is all the additional noises in that street on the spectrum version. There are noises of cars that aren't visible and apparently some sort of ghostly football match? It seems like additional noises have been overlaid onto the video to me that don't relate to the actual traffic/business level in the footage. So, I'd say I hear the spectrum level of noise for those things that are actually in shot plus things like aeroplanes etc., but I don't hear all the additional noises that don't seem to be there like the football and the jangling.

Also, someone above mentioned the noise of wheels on tarmac. Which bit is that? I've listened to the video twice and can't identify it, but I'm intrigued because I feel like I do hear all the types of car noises that are in the video, but I never thought of any of them as the sound of wheels on tarmac.

sorry I should have clarified, it was not in the video. It was immediately after watching the video that me and my wife went for a walk. And it was then that I mentioned being able to hear the wheels of the cars on the tarmac as they passed us. She said that she could not hear anything at all, which surprised me as I thought everyone could hear it

During this walk with my wife, I could not only hear the cars that passed us, but also the traffic on the dual carriageway 50 yards away behind a screen of trees. I couldn't see them, but could hear every single car

The scary part is that I have 35% hearing loss in both ears and am supposed to wear hearing aids. I don't wear the hearing aids, because If I had full hearing I would be a nutcase by now. I can't cope with the full hearing that my aids give me, every time I tried it was too frightening. Even without them the world is too noisy for me to cope with sometimes!

When you are autistic you tend to hear everything, not just what is in your field of vision, so if there was a football match going on in a nearby field you would most likely hear that. Just as you would hear nearby traffic even if it was not visible.

The only thing that wasn't quite right for me in the video was the visual effect of the brightness. This is because it's hard to convey what oversensitivity to light is like without the video becoming washed out from overexposure - as happened here. Its not exactly the same experience, but I can't see any other way they could have explained it without the overexposure.

One thing that struck me was how dark the NT walk down the street was. Quiet as well, but that's been commented on extensively.

But to me that's like evening around sundown. The stage right before I can actually stop wearing sunglasses.