Hi, hello, welcome to my new channel!
I've become interested in autism and Asperger's syndrome
about 4 or 5 months ago
when I started studying for my master's degree
in medical anthropology, here in Amsterdam
From the beginning, this topic intrigued me greatly
This idea that
people with autism
live amongst us, so close
and yet, for some reason
we are having so much trouble, we as neurotypicals
understanding the life experiences of people with autism
I've read a lot of literature about the topic
mostly from a bio-medical point of view, at the beginning
and then I moved on to
what the social sciences had to say about
autism, and Asperger's, and the people who have it
Anthropology, in particular,
has a wonderful - on my opinion -
a wonderful view on autism
as an experience, as a narrative
It seems, from the literature I've read
and from watching a lot of videos on YouTube
that exclusion and discrimination
and ignorance towards autism and Asperger's
and the people who have it -
are all too common in society
and I think that's a great wrong
I believe that in order for society to be more acceptive
of people with autism
a tool must be provided
to offer this deep understanding
of the experiences of having autism
As part of my study, I've been watching video blogs on YouTube -
posted by people with AS - over the past month or so
and I've come to this realization
that I'm learning a lot more about the experiences of having autism
than from all the literature I've read put together.
There is something about this medium, offered by YouTube
that enables one to - while watching such a video -
really take to heart some of what is being said
and really make sense of what's being told
which would otherwise remain inunderstandable
And so I decided that
these monologues, on YouTube
made by people with Asperger's would be the best possible source
of knowledge for my own study
I have launched this channel on YouTube
one - as a way of collecting data
as I described
but another goal I have with this channel
is to offer you, my viewers
a taste of what anthropology today has to say
about autism and Asperger's syndrome
Some wonderful anthropologists write about this topic
and research it
and talk to so many people with autism
and make sense of their own narratives
in a fantastic way
some of these anthropologists have autism themselves
And so,
I thought it would be interesting, abd beneficial maybe
for everyone
to share some of these anthropological understandings of autism
which I find to be so educational and interesting
And so my hope is that with this channel
we can all have a deep and meaningful conversation
which would contribute to a greater understanding between all of us
and primarily
offer a tool for neurotypicals
to understand - to better understand - the experiences of having autism
and Asperger's syndrome
If that interests you, please subscribe to the channel, and leave a comment
leave video comments, even
that, I think, would be a fantastic way to really get this channel going
and I'll be posting many more of these videos
over the upcoming months
And so I hope to see you here
and thanks for watching!! Goodbye!
