Some Thoughts On Rosie King

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Just watched the TED talk by Rosie King "How autism freed me to be myself". It wasn't what I expected. As someone with Asperger's myself, I didn't relate to it (or at least not like I do to most here on WP). What got me was that she didn't talk about the triad of impairment shown in all Autism Spectrum Disorders:

Impairment In:
1. Social interaction
2. Social imagination
3. Social communication

She also didn't mention other symptoms/traits that often are present in autists/aspies such as obsession over one topic/skill/etc and rigidity of routine, resistance to change, meltdowns, sensory sensitivity, sensory overload, attention to detail etc. The only thing she mentioned was her extremely vivid imagination and how she "gets lost in her own world". Although this trait is very prevalent in autism, it is also present in many creative/intelligent NTs who otherwise do not class as Autistic. I realise she most probably is genuine, but she put across Asperger's as being easy, and simply a difference. There is much debate over whether it is a disability or only a difference (but I think most with Aspergers would class it as much a disability as it is a difference.)

She made no mention of the common comorbids- depression, anxiety, adhd etc, mood swings.

To me she came across to be NT with some distinct Autistic traits. Maybe she has extremely mild Aspergers, as she was diagnosed at age 9, after realising that she had difficulty in reading peoples facial expressions.

However as someone, who has Aspergers, social anxiety and bouts of depression, I found it to be wish-washy. I know she has written a book, and was in a BBC documentary at age 13 about her Aspergers.

I would recommend this film as it seems a lot more in depth.

However, although she clearly has non-NT traits, the comment from her father in the BBC documentary makes me doubt she has Asperger's- "For most people with Asperger's, social skills are a problem- however Rosie's social skills are brilliant" - Rosie's Dad.

This is at odds with the social problems that all on the spectrum face (to differing severity).


This doesn't rule out the possibility she has Asperger's, as her Dad could be wrong. She uses language in a very pedantic and peculiar way, and so she may have social problems that her Dad won't recognise, she may be able to speak openly with people but not be able to explain her feelings or recognise other peoples feelings. Social skills also relate to not only instigating relationships, but also maintaining them which also she may have problems with.

My thoughts are split on if she is Autistic.

I want everyone's thoughts on her TED talk and her.

Explaining ASD in its entirety was not the purpose of the TED talk.


Perhaps via practice or imitation?


Seriously? Based on nothing more than a documentary and a TED talk?

You make a good point, I agree that she is on the spectrum. But the way she presented her experience of Aspergers is that it is a walk in the park which I think is irresponsible, and I still don't understand why she talked so much about her vivid imagination rather than on the things that do define her as on the spectrum. The point of her talk was to help people understand that people with Autism aren't all like Rainman and that once you've met one person with Autism, you've met one person with Autism. But in doing so she made having Autism seem trivial, and of no consequence. It affects me every day of my life, in both negative and positive ways. She probably spent hours preparing the talk, and she is being a social activist to help people accept individuals with Autism and for that I am grateful.

I think she did great.

Yes she did, wherever she may be on the spectrum. (I'm convinced that she's an Aspie now).

Actually, I don't see how her talk had anything to do with the title of the talk. I don't understand how what she said shows that autism helped her to be free to be herself.

It's a matter of perspective. She chooses to see her 'deficits' as gifts rather than commiserate over them. She covered in detail how her autism has freed her in that Ted talk. By not worrying about labels and trying to fit in a box. By embracing her imagination and just being herself no matter what people think.

Quite frankly I think we could all learn something from her.

Autism did that for her? I don't see how. It seems like it's just a matter of a state of mind that anyone could have, autistic or not.

Ok for the sake of argument. How many times have you gone against the group in your posts in the last week? (Where you had a very different opinion than the rest.)

I don't know. WP is the only place where I socialize, and most of the opinions here seem rather diverse, so there isn't exactly any coherent group to go against. If you mean society in general as the group, I probably differ in opinion with nearly every thought that I have.

Ok we will go with society. Bare with me, I just need you to follow for a few more questions to understand how autism played the role.

Do you care what society thinks about your differing of opinion?

Do you differ in opinion just to be a douche or do you differ, because autism has given you a unique perspective?

If they have valid criticism of it.


I'm not doing it to be a douche. I don't even know if I have autism because I haven't gotten my assessment results back. But it's definitely possible that it has given me a unique perspective.

Ok how many times have your read that autistics don't really care about social nuances/graces that they don't know how to fit in or are persistent in not fitting in? It's certainly a trait that many autistics share.

Anyway, instead of focusing on trying to figure out what people around her were thinking/feeling about her something autistics can't do anyway, she chose to not worry about it and focus narrowly on what she was good at without caring what other people thought. Giving less thought on fitting in and more towards what she loves.

When she did that she found herself happier and more productive and more accepted.

While it is a matter of perspective in a sense a NT would have more trouble breaking loose of societal norms than an autistic would, because of the very traits that make us not fit in to begin with. Make sense?

Yes.

Good! . I'm actually in the process of practicing this myself. I have to admit I like it better than constantly being hard on myself for not fitting in the way I perceived I was expected to. Still a work in progress though.

I know this thread is over two years old, but I have to say, I don't think her "brilliant social skills" necessarily make her any less autistic. Having notably good social skills may be a product of excessively practicing and learning social skills like aspies who mimic do rather than naturally acquiring them like NTs do. Other documentaries she's in imply that she has synesthesia and depression, and if you couple that with the traits that you observed in her plus the fact that she's non-binary, I think it's safe to assume she has Asperger's.