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Simon Baron Cohen

Kvothe

I am wondering why Simon Baron Cohen is associated with NAS after his opinions have been widely condemned by autistic people on a video.

The video in question is - the worlds leading autism expert https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VJg2_EVheY4&t=1668s

in this video he basically compares autistic people to Elon Musk who i am not aware was formally diagnosed as Autistic, and basically says Autism is a blessing.

Here are some of the comments from that video:

*OMG I spent most of this podcast rolling my eyes. I have ADHD and autism and it's something I would cure in a heartbeat. It makes my life hard and exhausting. I'm constantly overwhelmed. I have no friends. Wanting to prevent autism is good, not eugenics!

* He said autism doesn't cause human suffering and we shouldn't try and prevent it. He's an expert in the field yet lives in a fantasy world where autism always means interesting quirks. As a parent of a severely autistic child who is none verbal, I see daily how much suffering it can cause. Something as simple as walking past a shop with their door left open will change a happy child into a child having a two hour meltdown while scraping the skin off his own face and trying to smash his own head on the concrete. I see this daily and it's terrifying and heart-breaking.

* I’m so sick of people acting like being neurodivergent t is a blessing. As someone who has this myself, yes I have some abilities others don’t. But it is still debilitating. It’s like saying a blind person is lucky because their sense of smell becomes better. We need to find a cure for those who want it

* My son has autism, if there is anything we could have done to prevent it, we would have risked life and limb to do so. There is an incredible amount of suffering related with it.

*This interview is a disservice to all those negatively impacted by autism.

*I’m glad to see I wasn’t the only one shocked and rolling my eyes as the over-corrective “acceptance” mentality of this expert. It’s one thing to be compassionate and highlight the strengths of autism, it’s another thing to not want to prevent it or package it as simply an almost cosmetic difference. Ridiculous.

These are just some of the comments on that video and there are 6840 comments.


Do the National Autistic Society stand by him? He seems to not understand the plight of autistic people at all and i am wondering why thy NAS has him as a Patron, do they agree with his stance on autism or disavow it?

I prob wont be able to reply to most messages on this post as i find this site and the NAS too overwhelming, but will try if i can.

Parents

  • He is an academic and theorist, not a diplomat or a spokesperson for the autism community. He should be judged objectively. If he had only talked about the negatives of autism, he would have been equally attacked for that. In his early career he came up with the 'mindblindness' and 'extreme male brain' theories of autism. Ideas he has definitively moved away from, towards 'pattern recognition' and an acceptance of the neurodiversity model. I, for one, am very happy that such an eminent academic in the field has moved to a more depathologising stance on autism. Someone with a long research career should be judged on that career, not on one interview. He has consistently shown more mental flexibility than Uta Frith - whose recently avowed desire to essentially limit the autism label to autistics who cannot function at all in society is deeply disturbing and far more negative than anything Baron-Cohen has said.

    I think that calls for his demonisation are shrill and lack any merit.

    A quick search brought up the following:

    "Simon Baron-Cohen's research highlights that individuals with autism often have strengths in systemizing and attention to detail, which can lead to exceptional skills in specific areas. However, he also notes that many autistic individuals face challenges in social communication and may experience poor mental health, with up to 80% suffering from anxiety or depression."

    This seems to me to be a balanced approach, highlighting that autism has both positive and negative effects. This is entirely consistent with my personal experience of autism.

  • in reply to Martin

    I think the biggest change is people are no longer just going by what they see on the outside, but are also interested in what goes on on the inside, or at least can less easily ignore it.

    I think ND people being psychologists helps. I also think that the ability for people to communicate more easily, with better connectivity these days, has given more people a voice. Common stories and experiences makes people feel less alone.

    Without the internet, and AI (whatever you feel about it), I would have found it a lot harder to come to terms with. 

Reply
  • in reply to Martin

    I think the biggest change is people are no longer just going by what they see on the outside, but are also interested in what goes on on the inside, or at least can less easily ignore it.

    I think ND people being psychologists helps. I also think that the ability for people to communicate more easily, with better connectivity these days, has given more people a voice. Common stories and experiences makes people feel less alone.

    Without the internet, and AI (whatever you feel about it), I would have found it a lot harder to come to terms with. 

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