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- [00:07]
Elise Hu
You're listening to TED Talks Daily, where we bring you new ideas to spark your curiosity every day. I'm your host, Elise Hu. Stereotypes can often come when we say the word autism. In this talk, actress and disability rights activist Chloe Hayden asks us to reconsider the narrative around autism and why it's so important to to uplift autistic voices. She shares the story of her own diagnosis and the journey to knowing autism doesn't mean wrong or bad, and asks those who are not autistic to help create a world where the neurodivergent to neurotypical spectrum is understood and celebrated. This episode is sponsored by Dell Introducing the new Dell AI PC. Powered by the Intel Core Ultra processor, it's not just an AI computer, it's a computer built for AI. That means it's built to help do your busy work for you so you can fast forward through editing images, designing presentations, generating code, debugging code, running lots of apps without lag, creating live translations and captions, summarizing meeting notes, extending battery life, enhancing security, finding that file you were looking for, managing your schedule, meeting your deadlines, responding to Jim's long emails, leaving all the time in the world for more you time and for the things you actually want to do. No offense Jim. Get a new Dell AI PC starting at $749.99 at Dell.com AI PC how those ahead Stay ahead. This episode is sponsored by Audible. Can AI predict the source of the next global pandemic? Or at least help convince a Hollywood studio to buy a new screenplay? You won't want to miss what Could Go Wrong? An Audible original podcast by Scott Z. Burns, the writer of Contagion. With special guest appearances like director Steven Soderbergh, Laure Fishburne and Jennifer Ely, you'll listen to a deeply thoughtful, occasionally frightening and often hilarious Audible original podcast that delves head and heart first into today's burning question. Can humankind and AI actually work hand in hand? Featuring both skeptics and optimists across academia and the entertainment industry, what Could Go Wrong? Follows Scott as he slips deeper and deeper down the rabbit hole with an ever expanding cast of AI generated partners, including Lexter, his extraordinarily gifted, sharp tongued collaborator, as they co write and pitch the Contagion sequel to Hollywood Execs in this brave new world of human AI collaboration, one question looms large. What could possibly go wrong? Listen to what Could Go Wrong. To find out, go to audible.com whatcouldgowrong the next act begins with a prompt. This episode is sponsored by upwork. Scaling your business takes more than hard work. You need the right expertise at the right time. That's where Upwork comes in. With over two decades of experience, Upwork was built with a simple and ambitious goal to pioneer a better way of working. Whether you need help with it, web development, design or marketing, upwork connects you with skilled freelancers across the globe, people who get you and your business. Plus, there's no cost to join. Just register to post a job, browse freelancer profiles, or book a consultation to get started. They make the entire process easier and more affordable. Visit Upwork.com right now and post your job for free. That's Upwork.com to post your job for free and connect with top talent ready to help your business grow. That's upwork.com upwork.com.
- [03:46]
Chloe Hayden
When I say autism, what's the first thing that comes to your head? For many of us, it will be what Hollywood, what news articles, and what stereotyped ideologies have taught us. We think of Sheldon Cooper. We think of Rain Man. We think of what's eating Gilbert Grape. Maybe for you guys. More recently, we think of Manic Pixie Dream Girl Autism. We think of TikTok autism. We think of Quinny from Heartbreak High. Autism. We see autism through a lens that has falsely been taught to us rather than viewing it for what it really is. Growing up, I was so confident that I had crash landed on this planet from my own alien planet. I know from as young as 4 that I wasn't like the kids around me. I knew it when at kindergarten I would be hanging out with birds and snails while watching the other kids talk to each other, wondering how they made it look so easy. I knew it when I would hold my mum's hand a little bit tighter when someone my age would walk past me, already painfully aware of a neurotype that I didn't have. I knew it when I would read books and watch movies and never once see a character that I could relate to, instead finding peace in fantasy characters who also didn't fit into the world around them, similar to how others knew that I was different. I did too. Still, at the age of 27, I don't know what it is that actually made me so different. And I don't know why my peers clung to that difference so deeply either. Maybe this little box of normality that all of us have been taught that we have to mold ourselves to fit inside starts far younger than what we believe that it's societally Conditioned into us to be normal, to behave, to be like everyone else, far before it starts showing its claws and its talons. When I was 13, I was diagnosed with autism. And because of the stereotypes that I have heard about autism, I knew my brain to be wrong, to be broken, and to be cursed. A lot of my peers thought the same. When I told my best friend that I was autistic, she looked at me with fear in her eyes, took a big step back from me and said, can I catch it? My other best friend, a friend of six years, the longest I have ever had a relationship, by the way, sent me a text. Hey, we can't be friends anymore. People are probably going to tease me because I'm friends with someone that's autistic. Because of the fear that we have on autism, I have lost countless massive acting opportunities, casting directors and producers specifically telling me it was because of autism. When I was 16, I decided I was going to start a blog because the story that I was being told wasn't the story that I was going to live. I also have adhd. I'm stubborn as hell, and I was not going to let that story define me. I also knew that I wasn't that special. If I had crash landed on an alien planet, surely there was other people on that rocket ship with me. In 2022, I made history as becoming Australia's first ever openly autistic actress. My character Quinny in Heartbreak High made history in her own right as being one of the first ever autistic characters to actually be played by an autistic person. I find this really interesting because you guys are clapping and it is incredibly exciting, but doesn't it also make you feel a little bit sick that it's 2024 and only two years ago we got some of the first correct representation. How come correct autism representation is seen as so inspiring, is seen as so history making, is seen as so groundbreaking. Quinny was history making. I know for a fact if I had Quinny when I was a teenager, my entire life would have been different. And I've received thousands of messages from autistic people saying that they got their diagnosis because of her. And thousands more messages from people that have said that they now understand their students, their peers, their children better because of Quinny. Quinnie has undoubtedly shaped our perception of autism, but I do think it's really important to note that Quinny was so well received because she's palatable. Quinny is, for better or worse, a variant of manic pixie dream girl autism. She is real and she is authentic and I pride myself on that. But she's cute and she's quirky and she's funny and warm and likable and relatable. And most importantly, she's high functioning. For those who don't know about functioning labels, functioning labels have historically stereotypically been used in order to associate one group of autistic people over here as being less autistic, as having less support needs, as therefore being high functioning, and another group of autistic people over here on the spectrum as being more autistic, as having higher support needs, as being low functioning. We need to see functioning labels for what they really are. How capable is this person of blending in with the rest of us normal people? And in turn, how capable is this person of producing capitalistic value? Because this is the real reason why we use functioning labels to determine a person's economic worth. We live in an incredibly capitalistic society where for every single one of us, our worth and our value is heavily dependent on what what we do, what we achieve, what we make and what we contribute. Autistic people who are unable to be a productive cog in this capitalistic machine are seen as less than. And given the label of low functioning, an autistic person's level of functioning is going to fluctuate throughout their day, throughout their week, throughout their life because of an abundance of circumstances. You see me standing on this stage today. I'm wearing a bright outfit and colorful makeup, speaking a pre written script in front of all of you. Today I am high functioning. Tomorrow there is a high chance I will not be able to speak at all. My husband is going to have to dress me, feed me, shower me and be my complete caretaker tomorrow. I am low functioning. Functioning labels as we know them do not exist. The autism spectrum is not a linear spectrum in which one end is a little bit autistic and the other end is a lot autistic. It is more so a color wheel. A color spectrum of autism. If you are autistic and only if you are autistic comments of oh, but everyone's a little bit autistic and not welcome here. You can happily live then you are on this color wheel. Your hex code of autism represents your strengths, your struggles, your likes and dislikes, your habitat, where you are in your life at the moment and how society perceives you amongst a million other factors. Just as no color is more or less than another color, no autism is more or less than another autism. So how do we start to unlearn what we know and relearn what we need to know. The answer is embarrassingly listen to autistic people. For so long we haven't been heard, we haven't had voices. Our voices have been silenced and shut down and cast out. We cannot afford to do this anymore. We need to see the voices so we can be we need to see autistic people in media. We need to see them on TV shows, in movies. We need to see them in leading roles. We need to see them giving TED talks. We need to see autistic people behind the cameras. We need to see them as directors, in writers rooms, as teachers, as doctors, as politicians in positions of power. Because autistic people are good as hell at doing that. We need to make sure that we are seeing bipoc autistic people. We need to make sure that we are seeing high support needs autistic people. We need to make sure that we are seeing non speaking autistic people and every other minority group of the hex codes of autism that are not currently being represented in all of these positions too. So that it isn't just Sheldon Cooper and Manic Pixie Dring Girl autism that we grow comfortable with, but autism. All hex codes of autism. Because I'm tired of being the first. I don't want to be the first. I don't want to have to be history making. I don't want to have to be the representation. Have you guys noticed that we never ever hear the phrase straight white man representation? Being the representation is tiring. It is responsibility inducing. It means that I am constantly up for public debate. It means that people tune into my social media and they either see themselves or they think it is fake and false. It means that I am either sent messages of appreciation or daily death threats. It means that I am constantly too autistic or not autistic enough. It means that my support needs are constantly up for a public debate that I was not included in despite no one having any clue what happens to me the second I get off this stage. Contrary to what many people may think of me, an autistic person who is known for being an autistic actor mainly doing autistic roles who is an autistic advocate for autism. I don't really want to be the advocate for autism and I certainly do not want to be labeled depending on how valuable I am to society. I just want to be if you are autistic and you are in this room today, I need you to know that you hold so much worth and so much value exactly as you are. I also think it's important for you guys to know as a side note, that whatever it is that you are studying, whatever career it is that you want to go into, I want you to have a research of the top people in that career. I promise you, they're autistic. But with that in mind, it is also okay to just be. If you are not autistic and you are in this room today, I am assigning you an incredibly important job to do. No fairytale can end without a happily ever after. And no happily ever after can begin without a sidekick. Be our sidekicks. Raise our voices. Share our stories. Use the privilege that you have. Because I don't want there to be a need for representation anymore. I want to see all hex codes of autism represented so constantly and so normally that it simply just is. Because it is not representation when it is the expectation. Thank you.
- [15:56]
Elise Hu
That was chloe hayden@tedxsydney youth in 2024. If you're curious about Ted's curation, find out more@ted.com curationguidelines and that's it for today's show. Ted Talks Daily is part of the Ted Audio Collective. This episode was produced and edited by our team, Martha Estefanos, Oliver Friedman, Brian Greene, Lucy Little, Alejandra Salazar and Tonsika Sarmarnivon. It was mixed by Christopher Faizy Bogan. Additional support from Emma Tobner and Daniela Balaurazo. I'm Elise Hu. I'll be back tomorrow with a fresh idea for your feed. Thanks for listening.
- [16:43]
Scott Z. Burns
Location the Lab. Quentin only has 24 hours to sell his car. Is that even possible? He goes to Carvana.com. what is this, a movie trailer? He ignores the doubters, enters his license plate. Wow, that's a great offer. The car is sold, but will Carvana pick it up in time? They'll literally pick it up tomorrow morning. Done with the dramatics. Car selling in record time. Save your time.
- [17:08]
Chloe Hayden
Go to Carvana.com and sell your car today. Pick up these may apply. Ready to order? Yes. We're earning unlimited 3% cash back on dining and entertainment with a Capital One Saver Card. So let's just get one of everything.
- [17:20]
Elise Hu
Everything.
- [17:21]
Scott Z. Burns
Fire everything. The Capital One Saver card is at table 27, and they're earning unlimited 3% cash back. Yes, chef.
- [17:28]
Chloe Hayden
This is so nice.
- [17:30]
Scott Z. Burns
Had a feeling you'd want 3% cash back on dessert.
- [17:32]
Chloe Hayden
Ooh, tiramisu.
- [17:34]
Scott Z. Burns
Earn unlimited 3% cash back on dining and entertainment with the Capital One Saver Card. Capital One. What's in your wallet.
- [17:40]
Elise Hu
Terms apply.
- [17:41]
Chloe Hayden
See capitalone.com for details.
- [17:42]
Scott Z. Burns
And now a few words from finance about marketing's latest campaign. Wow, that's a lot of impressions. That's what I'd say if we wanted impressions, but we don't. We actually want traffic. Wow, that's a lot of traffic. Much better, right? Traffic? Much better ground Truth, the advertising platform for when you need real business results. Visit us@groundtruth.com.