The 10 Second Autism Test: What's YOUR Answer?

10 sec turn into minuts my head is exploding

Diagnosed in my early 50's, I broke down and cried like a baby when I realized I wasn't 'bad'. I am also a very successful IT guy, but when asked about my greatest achievement I say 'when I wrote and produced a little office Christmas party play'.

this guy created Task manager, what a legend. All love from programmers around the world! thanks dave

My teenage granddaughter was diagnosed as having high functioning autism. I have had symptoms all my life and masked it my entire life. Now I see what it is. So strange at 67 to realize I’ve been coping with this all my life. Glad my granddaughter is finally getting the help she needs.

Thanks!! I’m 53 and just found out I am autistic. IT EXPLAINS SOOOOOOOO MUCH!!! I am buying your book today, and I’ll post it EVERYWHERE

You know what’s crazy? When you said which one is more important for society, creativity or cooperation. My brain immediately said “creativity,” and then the voice inside my head said, “for you. But to everyone else it’s probably cooperation.” The masking part of my brain has always competed with my intuition. It’s crazy to recognize that now.

The big surprise is how little surprise there is!

I knew, or at least strongly suspected. Your facial expressions, eyes, speech pattern are all almost exactly the same as mine ... and yes I also have ASD. I was diagnosed when I was 45, now 58. As to the subject of "empathy" there seems to be two schools of thought on this, one school says a person with Autism is incapable of empathy, another school (those that actually have interactions with people with autism) state that we DO have empathy and we often feel so much (no filters) that we cannot cope with the input (overload) and have to shut down. So the "no empathy" thing is a shield we learn to put up to protect ourself.

My entire family is ND. We have all learned to communicate and give each other space or company as needed. Some of us are very crowd shy, others love research and are very good at it because of our ability to focus. Thank you for this video! You are one of my heroes!

I've got a theory that in the same way that a hive has bees with different functions, there are also humans with different functions. The ones classed as autistic are simply optimised for technical stuff to design, build and maintain society. There's a strong pattern of kids that take their toys apart and progress to technical careers. Often loners who absorb massive quantities of technical data easily and have a home that is more like a workshop. For many, YouTube entertainment is basically videos in a different area of technology because increasing their technical knowledge is enjoyable. Autistic people make the world a much more fun place to live.

Thank you for this. I was diagnosed with ASD when I was 35 I was surprised but not shocked. My whole life I felt like a alien who just landed on the planet trying to understand how normal humans work so that I can coexist with them.

I am in the same boat. I learned this in my 40s. I have been masking really well all my life. Thank you for sharing! The more people share, the less stigma there will be around it.

Hahaha i had the same. I started telling people i thought i was autistic and not one single person has disagreed so far. My family have suddenly become supportive after being given an alternative version of their judgements towards me. Coming out has been an overall positive experience, so far

“Doing things you suck at or are afraid of doing is where the most growth occurs” is something I REALLY needed to hear today! Thank you!

i clicked on this video to try to understand how this is a 10 minute video but a 10 second test??? tf why is there 590 more seconds than we need?

I love that you take it as a challenge to expose yourself to experiences that make you uncomfortable and force you to learn how to deal them. That is exactly the sort of defiance over being pigeonholed that I like.

Most scientists, mathematicians, engineers and doctors rate higher up the spectrum than the average person. It is nothing to be ashamed of. It often goes hand-in-hand with being very intelligent and detail-oriented.

Your story of getting diagnosed is the exact opposite of mine. I still remember the very first time I heard about autism, I was 12, and I immediately went "oh! That sounds like me!" But I masked so well, no one else saw it, so I thought "I guess I don't understand what autism really is," put it out of my head, and didn't think about again for 18 years until I stumbled onto a video about autism in girls that basically described my entire childhood that sent me down a YouTube rabbit hole. A year and a half later I had my diagnosis.

I think you are right. I have ASD and I find purpose in creating stuff before cooperation itself. Most neurotypical find purpose primarily in doing something together with others. This is what, to them, makes boring tasks bearable. Which doesn't mean that they don't value creativity.

Dave, thx for this! I suddenly figured out I was autistic two years ago at the ripe old age of 57. The aha initially blew me apart, but has since brought much peace. It was the missing piece I'd be searching for, for so long. Looking forward to reading your book:-). And, yes, perhaps what was more shocking was the not-so-shocked reaction of my friends and favorite long-term clients, who all responded with 'Well, you've always danced to your own drum,' or (trying to be reassuring) 'Well, we're all a little bit on the spectrum'! haha