meet Qaeda he just turned nine
in his free time kinda likes drawing
playing online games and solving math
problems Qaeda has trouble communicating
and interacting with his peers he feels
disoriented by social encounters in
public spaces he often speaks too loudly
and Quaeda obsesses over details this
can be good and bad he prefers carrying
all all of his conversations via email
so that he can hold others accountable
but that also means he creates amazing
artwork and does everything with
meticulous care Qaeda is my brother and
he’s an integral part of my life Qaeda
can make my life and my parents lives
messy and crazy but I wouldn’t want to
treat it for anything else growing up I
always knew Qaeda was different
Qaeda was a weird nerdy kid who won math
and chess competitions his friends
respected him for his intelligence and
kindness at the same time my brother had
a hard time in school and to not always
pay attention in class
his teachers would often come to me and
ask me to write down his homework even
though I was a younger sibling everyone
knew who he was and by extension who I
was as a result I grew up thinking of
myself as Qaeda’s sister rather than
Linda when I was 8 and when Qaeda was 10
our family moved from China to America
here Qaeda was just weird in addition to
facing a culture and language barrier
Qaeda would often do things that fell
outside the norm of socially accepted
behavior like lying down the sidewalk
where singleness school buzz needless to
say he had a hard time making friends I
would often get curious questions from
his classmates in my mind there were two
Qaeda’s the kyla that was branded and
excluded by his peers and the brother I
knew even though the scrutiny was
directed at Qaeda for the first time I
felt by extension
the ostracization and stigma that
surrounds mental disabilities later on
during our first year in America Qaeda
was diagnosed with Asperger syndrome for
those who don’t know Asperger syndrome
is a high-functioning form of autism
similar to other forms in pairs the
basic social skills when it’s expected
to display while the diagnosis concerned
Qaida it also impacted my parents in me
all of a sudden I remember feeling more
conscious about my brother being
different and becoming resentful about
this fact my parents began to dedicate
almost all their attention on Qaeda as
an eight-year-old I felt overshadowed
and I hated that I was never the center
of attention with my family weird
solar-system Qaeda was the son my mom
also got worried about my brother not
having friends so whenever my friends
came over for a playdate she would
abduct them and ask that my brother be
included in whatever we were doing I
also felt myself slowly becoming a
surrogate parent to him all of a sudden
I felt like Qaeda’s differences took
away my friends my parents attention and
dominated almost every aspect of my
family life for a long time I saw my
brother’s autistic behaviors as
undesirable and made it my goal to teach
in socially acceptable behaviors and
somehow fix him like mental illnesses
autism is less visible having autistic
others not something that I have
publicized in the past I wish I had
always had a courage to speak about this
but it took a long time for me to
overcome my own prejudice and fear my
brother was never bullied at school but
he was judged shunned and excluded in
restaurants we would often turn heads
I was resentful I felt powerless to make
things better and I blame Qaeda rather
than the perpetrators of his suffering
when I’ve voiced these feelings to my
mom she got very upset and this is what
she told me
if you feel ashamed of her brother you
should be ashamed of yourself that was
my wake-up call it’s not Kairos fault
for being different looking back I
realized that my feelings of resentment
stemmed from my own ability to value and
recognize Kairos neurodivergent
people including myself bypass and
misunderstood qaeda because his mind
doesn’t fit in society’s definition of
normal I hope to challenge you to think
about the valley that neurological
difference where neurodiversity can
actually bring to our view of the world
so what’s autism in a nutshell it’s
actually a spectrum of disorders the
autism spectrum is a group of
developmental disorders which includes a
wide range of symptoms and skills the
Centers for Disease Control currently
estimates that one in 68 school-aged
children in America are on the autism
spectrum and this occurs in all
socio-economic racial and ethnic groups
some of the classic signs of autism
include difficulty interacting and
communicating with others limited
interests or activities and repetitive
behaviors this can mean an ability to
speak a sensitivity to physical contact
were even the fixation on spending
objects one of the ways that I like to
think about autism as this as a spectrum
as Temple Grandin writes in her bugs
like depression and other disorders
autism is on a continuum ranging from
normal to abnormal to much of a tree it
can pose difficult challenges but a
little bit can provide an advantage
compared with those affected by other
forms of ASD
those with Asperger’s syndrome do not
experience significant delays in
language and cognitive development some
even have a high level vocabulary often
in the specialized field of interest
we might think that if all genetic brain
disorders were eliminated
we might be happier but there would be a
terrible price at one end of the
spectrum you might find someone who
faces severe challenges but at the other
end you might find an Einstein where
even the Steve Jobs both of whom have
been speculated to exhibit traits
associated with autism and that’s where
the idea of neuro diversity comes in
neuro diversity is a concept that
neurological differences should be
recognized and respected as any other
human variation neuro diversity is not
limited to autism in fact it can include
those labeled with dyslexia ADHD and
others those who are not on the autism
spectrum are referred to as NTS were
neurotypical NTS are wired differently
than those with a s and usually have
developed the social skills not that a s
person lacks and most importantly neuro
diversity is idea that neurological
differences should be regarded as
distinctive strengths rather than mere
checklist of deficits and dysfunctions
and unlocking those hidden strengths is
in the interest of every single one of
us the autistic mind differs in the way
it des tends to details categorizes
sensory information and uses
non-standard ways of learning and
approaching problem-solving many people
who are on the autistic spectrum are
simultaneously gifted at tasks requiring
fluid intelligence but disabled when it
comes to tasks requiring social skills
this can mean learning calculus which is
considered as a difficult task with
relative ease but struggling with
executive functioning some people on the
autistic spectrum also engage in deeply
focused thinking and specific areas
these narrow but deep special interests
can be anything from physics to ballet
from doorknobs math and from politics to
shiny bits of paper
rather than thinking of these mental
differences as deficits we can envision
them as differences in cognitive
functioning just like we would
biological or cultural diversity we can
think of autism as a variation in human
wiring rather than the disease the
concept of neuro diversity allows us to
account for the unique strengths and
weaknesses that come with individual
neurological difference according to the
Harvard Business Review many people all
autistic spectrum have higher than
average abilities some conditions
including dyslexia and autism are
associated with superior skills and
memory pattern recognition and
mathematics and these are talents that
are highly sought after by employers
for instance dyslexics have strong
entrepreneurial skills those with ADHD
thrive in novel learning situations in
fact Mozart and Tesla would probably
both be diagnosed as autism spectrum
today Steve Silberman wrote and spoke
neuro tribe’s
about a supervisor in Microsoft who’s
top debuggers all have Asperger’s
syndrome why they can visualize hundreds
of lines of code in their head as a
visual image they look for the
discrepancies then Pat in the pattern
and that’s where the bugs are we often
think of acceptance as a value that
forces some sort of compromise on the
high standards we set for ourselves
however it’s really not a you win I win
situation we both gain from it
acceptance is not only a positive skill
to exercise but it also serves as a
competitive advantage in fact inclusion
and acceptance should raise not lower
the standards we set for ourselves as
others while neurodiverse people do
require special accommodations have
struggles communicating and often have
challenging eccentricities for many
organizations the benefits have
outweighed the cost
studies have shown that companies with
programs recruiting neurodiverse talent
including sa P have seen boosts in
productivity innovative capabilities and
employee engagement and neurodiversity
drives innovation because neurodiverse
people are wired differently than those
who are neurotypical they bring new
perspectives to a company’s efforts to
create and recognize value preliminary
results from hewlett-packard South
Pacific showed that the company’s
neurodiverse testing teams are 30% more
productive than the others Temple
Grandin once said if autism had been
there vadik aidid from the face of the
earth then men would still be
socializing in front of a wood fire at
the entrance to a cave
however stigma is a real problem with
real consequences for many who are on
the spectrum the hardest step is getting
in that front door many autistic adults
are not exercising the strengths of
their atypical minds at companies like
Apple and Google instead a
disproportionate number is unemployed
and struggling to get by on disability
payments think about what effects this
has on our economy right now there’s an
enormous untapped talent pool so what’s
the big takeaway from all of this
I want you to think that some types of
intelligence are not worth more than
others nor is there only one right way
to think as Temple Grandin has often
said our world needs different kinds of
minds to work together this is what I
found the pain and joy that I have
experienced in growing up with my
brother had led to tremendous learning
and growth and more than anything it
taught me that different is good
I know it can be hard to interact with
someone who is on the autistic spectrum
trust me even though I love my brother
he’s a pain 75% of the time and every
few days I think about during him out
the window well no just kidding but
getting past the initial fear is the
hardest part but don’t let that tough
exterior prevent you from getting to
know someone awesome so at this point
you’re probably wondering how do I fit
into all of this chances are you know
we’re perhaps through even friends with
someone who is on the spectrum you have
a role in making a difference we can all
start by changing our mindset and
changing the way we talk about
neurological dear friends so here’s my
challenge to you let’s create a better
world we really you know diversity as
much as we value cultural were racial
diversity so that anyone all autistic
spectrum can feel accepted and embraced
rather than ashamed autism should not
define who my brother is let’s think of
neurological difference not as a
disability a source of stigma but rather
as a way to live life differently thank
you [Applause]
in his free time kinda likes drawing
playing online games and solving math
problems Qaeda has trouble communicating
and interacting with his peers he feels
disoriented by social encounters in
public spaces he often speaks too loudly
and Quaeda obsesses over details this
can be good and bad he prefers carrying
all all of his conversations via email
so that he can hold others accountable
but that also means he creates amazing
artwork and does everything with
meticulous care Qaeda is my brother and
he’s an integral part of my life Qaeda
can make my life and my parents lives
messy and crazy but I wouldn’t want to
treat it for anything else growing up I
always knew Qaeda was different
Qaeda was a weird nerdy kid who won math
and chess competitions his friends
respected him for his intelligence and
kindness at the same time my brother had
a hard time in school and to not always
pay attention in class
his teachers would often come to me and
ask me to write down his homework even
though I was a younger sibling everyone
knew who he was and by extension who I
was as a result I grew up thinking of
myself as Qaeda’s sister rather than
Linda when I was 8 and when Qaeda was 10
our family moved from China to America
here Qaeda was just weird in addition to
facing a culture and language barrier
Qaeda would often do things that fell
outside the norm of socially accepted
behavior like lying down the sidewalk
where singleness school buzz needless to
say he had a hard time making friends I
would often get curious questions from
his classmates in my mind there were two
Qaeda’s the kyla that was branded and
excluded by his peers and the brother I
knew even though the scrutiny was
directed at Qaeda for the first time I
felt by extension
the ostracization and stigma that
surrounds mental disabilities later on
during our first year in America Qaeda
was diagnosed with Asperger syndrome for
those who don’t know Asperger syndrome
is a high-functioning form of autism
similar to other forms in pairs the
basic social skills when it’s expected
to display while the diagnosis concerned
Qaida it also impacted my parents in me
all of a sudden I remember feeling more
conscious about my brother being
different and becoming resentful about
this fact my parents began to dedicate
almost all their attention on Qaeda as
an eight-year-old I felt overshadowed
and I hated that I was never the center
of attention with my family weird
solar-system Qaeda was the son my mom
also got worried about my brother not
having friends so whenever my friends
came over for a playdate she would
abduct them and ask that my brother be
included in whatever we were doing I
also felt myself slowly becoming a
surrogate parent to him all of a sudden
I felt like Qaeda’s differences took
away my friends my parents attention and
dominated almost every aspect of my
family life for a long time I saw my
brother’s autistic behaviors as
undesirable and made it my goal to teach
in socially acceptable behaviors and
somehow fix him like mental illnesses
autism is less visible having autistic
others not something that I have
publicized in the past I wish I had
always had a courage to speak about this
but it took a long time for me to
overcome my own prejudice and fear my
brother was never bullied at school but
he was judged shunned and excluded in
restaurants we would often turn heads
I was resentful I felt powerless to make
things better and I blame Qaeda rather
than the perpetrators of his suffering
when I’ve voiced these feelings to my
mom she got very upset and this is what
she told me
if you feel ashamed of her brother you
should be ashamed of yourself that was
my wake-up call it’s not Kairos fault
for being different looking back I
realized that my feelings of resentment
stemmed from my own ability to value and
recognize Kairos neurodivergent
people including myself bypass and
misunderstood qaeda because his mind
doesn’t fit in society’s definition of
normal I hope to challenge you to think
about the valley that neurological
difference where neurodiversity can
actually bring to our view of the world
so what’s autism in a nutshell it’s
actually a spectrum of disorders the
autism spectrum is a group of
developmental disorders which includes a
wide range of symptoms and skills the
Centers for Disease Control currently
estimates that one in 68 school-aged
children in America are on the autism
spectrum and this occurs in all
socio-economic racial and ethnic groups
some of the classic signs of autism
include difficulty interacting and
communicating with others limited
interests or activities and repetitive
behaviors this can mean an ability to
speak a sensitivity to physical contact
were even the fixation on spending
objects one of the ways that I like to
think about autism as this as a spectrum
as Temple Grandin writes in her bugs
like depression and other disorders
autism is on a continuum ranging from
normal to abnormal to much of a tree it
can pose difficult challenges but a
little bit can provide an advantage
compared with those affected by other
forms of ASD
those with Asperger’s syndrome do not
experience significant delays in
language and cognitive development some
even have a high level vocabulary often
in the specialized field of interest
we might think that if all genetic brain
disorders were eliminated
we might be happier but there would be a
terrible price at one end of the
spectrum you might find someone who
faces severe challenges but at the other
end you might find an Einstein where
even the Steve Jobs both of whom have
been speculated to exhibit traits
associated with autism and that’s where
the idea of neuro diversity comes in
neuro diversity is a concept that
neurological differences should be
recognized and respected as any other
human variation neuro diversity is not
limited to autism in fact it can include
those labeled with dyslexia ADHD and
others those who are not on the autism
spectrum are referred to as NTS were
neurotypical NTS are wired differently
than those with a s and usually have
developed the social skills not that a s
person lacks and most importantly neuro
diversity is idea that neurological
differences should be regarded as
distinctive strengths rather than mere
checklist of deficits and dysfunctions
and unlocking those hidden strengths is
in the interest of every single one of
us the autistic mind differs in the way
it des tends to details categorizes
sensory information and uses
non-standard ways of learning and
approaching problem-solving many people
who are on the autistic spectrum are
simultaneously gifted at tasks requiring
fluid intelligence but disabled when it
comes to tasks requiring social skills
this can mean learning calculus which is
considered as a difficult task with
relative ease but struggling with
executive functioning some people on the
autistic spectrum also engage in deeply
focused thinking and specific areas
these narrow but deep special interests
can be anything from physics to ballet
from doorknobs math and from politics to
shiny bits of paper
rather than thinking of these mental
differences as deficits we can envision
them as differences in cognitive
functioning just like we would
biological or cultural diversity we can
think of autism as a variation in human
wiring rather than the disease the
concept of neuro diversity allows us to
account for the unique strengths and
weaknesses that come with individual
neurological difference according to the
Harvard Business Review many people all
autistic spectrum have higher than
average abilities some conditions
including dyslexia and autism are
associated with superior skills and
memory pattern recognition and
mathematics and these are talents that
are highly sought after by employers
for instance dyslexics have strong
entrepreneurial skills those with ADHD
thrive in novel learning situations in
fact Mozart and Tesla would probably
both be diagnosed as autism spectrum
today Steve Silberman wrote and spoke
neuro tribe’s
about a supervisor in Microsoft who’s
top debuggers all have Asperger’s
syndrome why they can visualize hundreds
of lines of code in their head as a
visual image they look for the
discrepancies then Pat in the pattern
and that’s where the bugs are we often
think of acceptance as a value that
forces some sort of compromise on the
high standards we set for ourselves
however it’s really not a you win I win
situation we both gain from it
acceptance is not only a positive skill
to exercise but it also serves as a
competitive advantage in fact inclusion
and acceptance should raise not lower
the standards we set for ourselves as
others while neurodiverse people do
require special accommodations have
struggles communicating and often have
challenging eccentricities for many
organizations the benefits have
outweighed the cost
studies have shown that companies with
programs recruiting neurodiverse talent
including sa P have seen boosts in
productivity innovative capabilities and
employee engagement and neurodiversity
drives innovation because neurodiverse
people are wired differently than those
who are neurotypical they bring new
perspectives to a company’s efforts to
create and recognize value preliminary
results from hewlett-packard South
Pacific showed that the company’s
neurodiverse testing teams are 30% more
productive than the others Temple
Grandin once said if autism had been
there vadik aidid from the face of the
earth then men would still be
socializing in front of a wood fire at
the entrance to a cave
however stigma is a real problem with
real consequences for many who are on
the spectrum the hardest step is getting
in that front door many autistic adults
are not exercising the strengths of
their atypical minds at companies like
Apple and Google instead a
disproportionate number is unemployed
and struggling to get by on disability
payments think about what effects this
has on our economy right now there’s an
enormous untapped talent pool so what’s
the big takeaway from all of this
I want you to think that some types of
intelligence are not worth more than
others nor is there only one right way
to think as Temple Grandin has often
said our world needs different kinds of
minds to work together this is what I
found the pain and joy that I have
experienced in growing up with my
brother had led to tremendous learning
and growth and more than anything it
taught me that different is good
I know it can be hard to interact with
someone who is on the autistic spectrum
trust me even though I love my brother
he’s a pain 75% of the time and every
few days I think about during him out
the window well no just kidding but
getting past the initial fear is the
hardest part but don’t let that tough
exterior prevent you from getting to
know someone awesome so at this point
you’re probably wondering how do I fit
into all of this chances are you know
we’re perhaps through even friends with
someone who is on the spectrum you have
a role in making a difference we can all
start by changing our mindset and
changing the way we talk about
neurological dear friends so here’s my
challenge to you let’s create a better
world we really you know diversity as
much as we value cultural were racial
diversity so that anyone all autistic
spectrum can feel accepted and embraced
rather than ashamed autism should not
define who my brother is let’s think of
neurological difference not as a
disability a source of stigma but rather
as a way to live life differently thank
you [Applause]
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