[11Woxsepmoomo]

after viewing this video, it made me wonder if autism is a glimpse into the evolution of the human mind. the rate of autism has increased tremendously in the last 20-30 years with researchers baffled at its steady increase in the last few decades. in the second part of the video, she describes how she communicates in her own language. the way she describes her form of communication is very powerful and it gave me a new perspective on people who communicate without words.

youtube video link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jnylm1hi2jc

article link: http://www.wired.com/medtech/health/...urrentpage=all

snippet-the youtube clip opens with a woman facing away from the camera, rocking back and forth, flapping her hands awkwardly, and emitting an eerie hum. she then performs strange repetitive behaviors: slapping a piece of paper against a window, running a hand lengthwise over a computer keyboard, twisting the knob of a drawer. she bats a necklace with her hand and nuzzles her face against the pages of a book. and you find yourself thinking: who's shooting this footage of the handicapped lady, and why do i always get sucked into watching the latest viral video?

but then the words "a translation" appear on a black screen, and for the next five minutes, 27-year-old amanda baggs — who is autistic and doesn't speak — describes in vivid and articulate terms what's going on inside her head as she carries out these seemingly bizarre actions. in a synthesized voice generated by a software application, she explains that touching, tasting, and smelling allow her to have a "constant conversation" with her surroundings. these forms of nonverbal stimuli constitute her "native language," baggs explains, and are no better or worse than spoken language. yet her failure to speak is seen as a deficit, she says, while other people's failure to learn her language is seen as natural and acceptable.