Apple Celebrates Autism Acceptance Month With Two New Videos

[bmacir]

Anyone knows what is the name of the app he's using?

 

[Wanted797]

I work in the phone store and once had a young autistic girl come in with her parents looking for a phone for her. I could tell she was trying to talk to me but unable and the parents felt a bit lost at all the phones to choose from. I pulled out my iPhone turned on speech selection and wrote to the girl, 'Hey how are you? What phone do you like?' and made it speak the words and showed her how to reply, the look on her face was priceless she quickly grabbed the phone and started talking with me. It's things like this that make my job worthwhile, seeing customers truely benefit from the technology.

 

[CFreymarc]

Harry Potter isn't real. X-Men aren't real, and human evolution does not operate in a way to give people magical powers within one or two generations because the Age of Aquarius demands it.

Astrology, Phernology and Rassenschande were all college majors at one time.

 

[Mums]

As one on the spectrum at the high functioning end, I believe one of the big reasons is society has, in the last 35 years, become significantly more demanding of having a high social IQ and emotional IQ to be "normal".

Low functioning autistics, like Dillan, have always been obviously autistic and easily diagnosed. And it's great to see tools like the iPad help them become more functioning.

But it's higher up the spectrum that all the new diagnose is occurring. People who function reasonably okay and you generally don't pick until you talk to them a little or longer.

Back in the '70s and earlier, it didn't matter if you were not able to understand feelings, or be a social butterfly, because the dominant "species" (men) were not anyway. Before the '80s, you'd never see a man cry, for example.

It was much easier for an functioning autistic to disappear into the background and find a niche were they could be happy or at least, not pressured to be someone different.

Ironically, back then, particularly for guys, if you were social and emotional, you were the one with a "disorder".

But now, we expect everyone to be in touch with their feelings and social masters. I think that's why my own diagnosis didn't come til I was 45 (7 years ago).

As I got older and the world changed, I think I found it harder and harder to conform to what was expected of a "normal" person.

I'm not saying this change in the world is a bad thing either. I think it is a very good thing. It has been a significant reason for the improved relations and understanding between men and women.

But at the moment, it's a bit out of balance because we are expecting *everybody* to fit this new "normal" and when they don't, we say something is wrong with them, and often they get diagnosed autistic.

We need to get to a point where we see functioning autistic people as normal - but in a different way.

You've got it right - except the new social expectations are a symptom of increased socialism and feminism and demasculinization. That is not a good thing.

For example, men are severely ostricized in university settings - especially White men. I just went through that - it was the worst experience of my adult life - and I fought it well, but was deeply demoralized.

So the apparent increase in autism and aspergers is artificial and more or less false: it is due to manliness being pathologized, even criminalized, and also the ever more inclusive set of criteria supposedly warranting psychiatric medication - which in itself is a thoroughly debunked marketing ploy by the pharmaceutical industry.

It has become unfashionable, socially unacceptable and at times illegal for men to be men - we have been brainwashed and legislated into acting "social" like women.

 

[Apple Knowledge Navigator]

Better awareness and diagnosis perhaps?

Absolutely. We also shouldn't forget that, many decades ago, autistic people were essentially shunned from society because their families were too embarrassed to except their behaviour. Now that this is thankfully no longer the case, we have a much greater understanding of these people.

 

[Apple fanboy]

Absolutely. We also shouldn't forget that, many decades ago, autistic people were essentially shunned from society because their families were too embarrassed to except their behaviour. Now that this is thankfully no longer the case, we have a much greater understanding of these people.

Still lots of room for improvement (just read some of the posts in this thread), but campaigns like this can only help IMO.

 

[smacrumon]

You've got it right - except the new social expectations are a symptom of increased socialism and feminism and demasculinization. That is not a good thing.

For example, men are severely ostricized in university settings - especially White men. I just went through that - it was the worst experience of my adult life - and I fought it well, but was deeply demoralized.

So the apparent increase in autism and aspergers is artificial and more or less false: it is due to manliness being pathologized, even criminalized, and also the ever more inclusive set of criteria supposedly warranting psychiatric medication - which in itself it a thoroughly debunked marketing ploy by the pharmaceutical industry.

It has become unfashionable, socially unacceptable and at times illegal for men to be men - we have been brainwashed and legislated into acting "social" like women.

You said: "the new social expectations are a symptom of increased socialism and feminism and demasculinization. That is not a good thing."
Hmmm... What are you even talking about?
Behaviour, personality, gender, etcetera, etcetera, exists on a continuum stretching from one end to another end, we all fit somewhere along that continuum, and during our lives some of us might move along that continuum, and some of us will stay fairly constant on that continuum. Humans change and grow over time. Unlike technology, humans aren't binary.
Saying "men are brainwashed into acting social", seems to suggest it's not right for men to be social, which is just wrong. People can be anything they choose. Stop building binary walls around the place please!
When you suggest white or black, or men or women, autism or aspergers, you completely build false walls around people and yourself. Humans aren't an either/or proposition, they are anything and everything. If you're a man, then great, if you're a woman, then great, if you neither identify with being a man or a woman and identify with something else, then great as well. Just be yourself. As long as we relax, enjoy each other and do not infringe on each other's lives, life then should play out simply great.
I'm sorry to hear you have been ostracized, that's not a good experience. I wish you better times ahead. Just relax and be the best person you can be, that's what counts in the end and is what most people respond to best.

 

[Three141]

Now this is the type of PC I fully support, hats off to Apple for this. I hope they find ways to make life even better.

 

[tripmusic]

Autism is linked to vaccines and our geo-engineered skies which contain aluminum. My niece is autistic and brilliant in many ways. It's unfortunate that she lacks vital social skills as well as understanding emotions

 

[craig.francis]

As an Autistic person, It's awesome seeing AAM getting some major spotlight. Hopefully it will get people thinking of us as people rather than someone who is 'curable'. Anything that keeps people away from the terrible Autism Speaks - I am NOT a puzzle piece, and towards acceptance, giving us help we actually want, and self-advocacy options is much appreciated. Well done Apple!

The iPad actually is really helpful, (not being payed to say this, I swear, but) the new TrueTone and NightShift stuff really seems to drop overload from the screen. There are apps like FluidMonkey for some general nice colour calming things if you need it, or the absolutely awesome GridPlayer for communication, either reading out what you type, or allowing you to choose from pictures it could read out (free last time I checked, where lesser apps cost £50 or more for the privilige of getting people to actually listen to you even when you can't speak!).

(Though as a note, while the language was more or less ok, I assure you I am not "living with autism", it is not a cat, housemate or ugly chair, it is not seperable from me, there's no core neurotypical hiding inside existing next to 'an autism'. I am just being an autistic person. It's my personality, way of thinking and way of doing things - it's autism all the way down!)

Cheers Apple for spreading the word about AAM with an Actually Autistic person, advocating for themselves, and not giving the spotlight to a parent, sibling or teacher - leaving it in the hands of the real, hands-on experts instead!

"Nothing about us, without us!" - ASAN (Autistic Self Advocacy Network) motto.

 

[stevielatphoto]

Does anyone know the name of the App that Dillan is using in the video as I have a 15 year severely autistic son, thanks in advance for your help

 

[Glideslope]

Well done Apple. 2016 is off to a great start. Let's keep it that way.

 

[ArmCortexA8]

My gf son has Autism - he turns 8 this year. I have noticed that after his last immunisation which included not one but 3 in one shot he has got worse. Autism was described to me as a situation where the brain network is too complex - basically too much wiring which means neurotransmitters and neurones have connection issues and delays are caused by this overly complex network. Unfortunately unlike a computer, this network cannot be re-built / reconfigured to work efficiently (instant change), however various exercises for Autism can attempt to to re-programme these neurological pathways so that they transmit and receive directly via the short pathway, as in the case of those who don't have Autism.

Things take longer to process, and too much noise (or other external audio and visual cues) overloads the brain as it cannot process so much info. This simple test can reveal this "pause" in brain processing - get a child to do an activity - look at their eyes and ask them a question - they will pause with a blank look for a few seconds - this is described as the "pause". The information processing overloads the brain so data has to be dumped and cut down and passed in parts until this is process is complete. Similar to a computer bottleneck issue, and sensory overload.

Autism children tend to have hypersensitivity to audio / sound / music and cannot handle instructions from multiple people at once. Autism also means intense concentration on one thing, and not being able to combine multiple sources of information as most of us do fluently if we don't have autism. Unless you look into their eyes and use a neutral vocal tone, your questions will be refused / ignored. It's akin to not being able to multi-task, and can only imagine the effort their brain is using to try to process all this data constantly - an ability most of us take for granted.

As they say you only realise what you have is a gift when you no longer have the ability.

 

[kahkityoong]

I'm going to express what I expect is a very unpopular opinion. I believe there are fad diseases that are over diagnosed and that some people try to include themselves (or their loved ones) in under an overly broad definition. I think that autism is the latest such "craze". People like Dillon undoubtedly have serious challenges but for every Dillon it seems there are 10 more people on the autism "spectrum" that have only minor challenges in life that could easily be chalked up to us all being different rather than any specific underlying condition. To me it seems that many people having concerns about their child's development today jump to the autism spectrum as an explanation and given the lack of a hard diagnosis it can be a dubious claim. The spike in cases could be a combination of increased awareness leading to increased diagnosis but also a large increase in parents (incorrectly) using it as an explanation for whatever other concern they have. We seem to have a spike in something like this for every generation, prior to autism it seems it was food allergies, prior to that it was ADHD, prior to that it was asthma, repeat ad-nausium. For every one of those conditions there are people legitimately suffering from the effects but I'd wager a significant number - for some even a majority - are not impairing and/or correct diagnosis. Perhaps I'm an idiot who hasn't been informed of the facts or maybe time will prove me wrong but I highly suspect this "epidemic" is overblown.

Maybe you're autistic.

 

[sk1wbw]

Autism ACCEPTANCE month? Do people not accept autism? Shouldn't it be Autism Awareness month?

 

[Mums]

You said: "the new social expectations are a symptom of increased socialism and feminism and demasculinization. That is not a good thing."
Hmmm... What are you even talking about?
Behaviour, personality, gender, etcetera, etcetera, exists on a continuum stretching from one end to another end, we all fit somewhere along that continuum, and during our lives some of us might move along that continuum, and some of us will stay fairly constant on that continuum. Humans change and grow over time. Unlike technology, humans aren't binary.
Saying "men are brainwashed into acting social", seems to suggest it's not right for men to be social, which is just wrong. People can be anything they choose. Stop building binary walls around the place please!
When you suggest white or black, or men or women, autism or aspergers, you completely build false walls around people and yourself. Humans aren't an either/or proposition, they are anything and everything. If you're a man, then great, if you're a woman, then great, if you neither identify with being a man or a woman and identify with something else, then great as well. Just be yourself. As long as we relax, enjoy each other and do not infringe on each other's lives, life then should play out simply great.
I'm sorry to hear you have been ostracized, that's not a good experience. I wish you better times ahead. Just relax and be the best person you can be, that's what counts in the end and is what most people respond to best.

Unfortunately the relativism you are dogmatizing has been indoctrinated into you as part of the cultural Marxism which has become prevalent at universities throughout the West as part of a massive program to mold society into a malleable, raceless, genderless drone-state which can be freely manipulated and enslaved by those elite people who created Communism in the 19th and 20th centuries. Communism is an impossible ideal, because - by its very nature - it always requires management by non-communists. Your idealism is noble, but abysmally flawed. If you want to believe in something, believe in what you know. Empiricism is reliable - believe in yourself and those others in your life who prove themselves to be worthy of your investment. Otherwise you are falling for the lies of con men.

I suspect you are female, which means you are naturally prone to enforcing collectivism, as opposed to males who are naturally prone to individualism. Therefore I do not expect you to understand or accept what I have written. However, I wish you the best as you seem to be a conscientious person.

 

[Joegrech]

So how does iPad actually helps? How is this different to writing or typing on a typewriter. I also form words from letters, and sentences from words while typing or speaking.

Sounds like you are another one of those sad people...

 

[smacrumon]

Unfortunately the relativism you are dogmatizing has been indoctrinated into you as part of the cultural Marxism which has become prevalent at universities throughout the West as part of a massive program to mold society into a malleable, raceless, genderless drone-state which can be freely manipulated and enslaved by those elite people who created Communism in the 19th and 20th centuries. Communism is an impossible ideal, because - by its very nature - it always requires management by non-communists. Your idealism is noble, but abysmally flawed. If you want to believe in something, believe in what you know. Empiricism is reliable - believe in yourself and those others in your life who prove themselves to be worthy of your investment. Otherwise you are falling for the lies of con men.

I suspect you are female, which means you are naturally prone to enforcing collectivism, as opposed to males who are naturally prone to individualism. Therefore I do not expect you to understand or accept what I have written. However, I wish you the best as you seem to be a conscientious person.

I'm not living my life by any form of dogma. I'm not "genderless". I'm not "raceless". I'm certainly not "malleable". I have my own thoughts and ideas and I inform those thoughts and ideas through new information every second. My great family history informs me about my cultural past. But I live my life the way I wish to.

I'm not going to put limitations on my life nor do I seek to put limitations on other people's lives just because something is or is not stereotypically a male thing or a female thing. It is possible to be both individualistic and collectivistic. People do not need to subscribe to one or the other. Your assessment of me is entirely wrong.

Please elaborate on your previous comments, firstly, on how you have been severely ostracized and the ways it has deeply demoralized you. And, secondly, why you think it is unfashionable, socially unacceptable and illegal to be a man?

I'd like to understand your particular perspective much better than what has been communicated so far.

 

[northy124]

Earlier this morning, Apple posted a pair of videos onto its YouTube channel to join in on celebrating Autism Acceptance Month. The videos - titled "Dillan's Voice" and "Dillan's Path" - show how the company's technology, namely the iPad, has helped a young man with autism navigate a world that doesn't fully understand what he's going through.

I know it's a marketing campaign but it's just beautiful, this just shows that we're advancing in the right direction so that those with disabilities can be helped and not shunned as before. One thing I do find odd is that it's Autism Acceptance and not Awareness but maybe it isn't accepted yet? I don't know but what I do know is that this is amazing!

Does anyone know the name of the App that Dillan is using in the video as I have a 15 year severely autistic son, thanks in advance for your help

I think it's Proloquo4Text but I could be wrong.

 

[Markoth]

Thank you for this very enlightening post. Now you mention it it was the way I brought my child up that made her brain to be wired completely differently from yours. If only she had been brought up by better parents like yours, then I'm sure she wouldn't be the way she is!
This is exactly the type of person I have come up against in training before. Nobody wants their child to be autistic. It's not trendy or cool. It's hard work.
Imagine never having a holiday or a trip out because your child doesn't cope with the change in routine.
Imagine only being able to eat foods that smell ok so your child doesn't freak out.
Imagine not being able to open your curtains on a bright sunny day because your child suffers from light sensitivity.
Imagine your child's friends have all moved on as they got older, but your 14 year old doesn't understand why they don't want to talk about my little pony anymore.
Imagine having to try and help teach your child the social stuff that everyone else just gets.
Like I said I don't think anyone is faking autism. It's a spectrum. Some people are mildly affected (Bill Gates?), others profoundly so.
Some are better able to cope in the world, others are not.
At least Apple have got us talking about it, which is better than not talking about it.
[doublepost=1459666449][/doublepost]Here's another video currently airing in the UK.

I never said that REAL autism has anything to do with the parents. Go nail yourself to a cross somewhere else please...

 

[Apple fanboy]

I never said that REAL autism has anything to do with the parents. Go nail yourself to a cross somewhere else please...

Well I've never met a FAKE Autistic.

 

[username:]

Some massive, unfounded generalisations made in this thread!

To me, autism is complex and misunderstood. I'm not an expert, but I'm pretty sure it is not due to sexism and the rise of feminism! Wow!

 

[billy the fish]

I'm sorry but text to speech and all sorts of vocal apps have been on the go for ages. This isn't something new, but once.again the sycophantic community lap it up as if apple has invented the wheel. When in reality they are using these poor kids as pawns in a very poor marketing campaign. Highlighting years old tech as new.
Proud of Apple? More like ashamed of Apple?

 

[Harmonious Zen]

I'm sorry but text to speech and all sorts of vocal apps have been on the go for ages. This isn't something new, but once.again the sycophantic community lap it up as if apple has invented the wheel. When in reality they are using these poor kids as pawns in a very poor marketing campaign. Highlighting years old tech as new.
Proud of Apple? More like ashamed of Apple?

Yeah, but often times it's the use of new technology in a specific way that makes a difference. You could also say that prior to the iPhone, cellular phones with apps were also available. But you know that's only a skin deep analysis.

Everyone knows that this is marketing driven, but I'd prefer this sort of marketing that actually delivers some sort of social impact, rather than the usual drivel we see.

 

[LxHunter]

Autism is linked to vaccines

Do you mean the Lancet / Wakefield paper? The fake withdrawn study?
Has resulted in resurgence of Measles, Mumps ......

http://mobile.nytimes.com/2010/02/03/health/research/03lancet.html?referer=

Get a better source of medical information.
Not Jenny McCarthy.

http://globalnews.ca/news/1274553/j...cking-on-anti-vaccination-but-is-it-too-late/