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Tag: Jerry Seinfeld Autism

  • Jerry Seinfeld: Is He Slightly Autistic?

    Jerry Seinfeld: Is He Slightly Autistic?

    On November 6, comedian Jerry Seinfeld was interviewed by Brian Williams for the NBC Nightly News. The observational comic was there to promote his comedy web-series Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee. The 60-year-old also revealed during the course of the interview that he believes that he’s slightly autistic. “I think on a very drawn-out scale, I’m on the spectrum,” he said in the interview.

    “Basic social engagement is really a struggle. I’m very literal,” Seinfeld added. “When people talk to me and they use expressions, sometimes I don’t know what they’re saying. I don’t see it as dysfunctional; I see it as an alternate mindset.”

    — NBC News (@NBCNews) November 7, 2014

    Autism advocates have applauded Seinfeld for talking about the matter on national TV. “Think about what this does for a closeted autistic person who goes into the workplace knowing that their co-workers have just seen somebody they know, respect, and have a positive opinion of, like Jerry Seinfeld, identify in this way — it’s a valuable and important step in building a greater tolerance for autism,” said Ari Ne’eman, president of the Autistic Advocacy Network.

    However, Wendy Fournier, who is a founding member and president of the National Autistic Association, revealed her concerns over Seinfeld’s statements. “What many people don’t understand is that on that lower-functioning end of the spectrum, we have individuals who are suffering and whose lives are at risk. Autism is not a designer diagnosis,” Fournier said.

    Dr. Michael Rosenthal, a pediatric neuropsychologist at the Child Mind Institute, has expressed his doubts on whether or not Seinfeld actually belongs in the autism spectrum. According to Rosenthal, the symptoms that Seinfeld has talked about “are things that exist in a lot of people who don’t necessarily have an autism spectrum disorder.”

    He added, “Autism is a spectrum and human behavior is a spectrum as well.”

    What is Autism?

  • Jerry Seinfeld: Autism Doesn’t Make Him Dysfunctional

    Jerry Seinfeld sat down for an interview recently with Brian Williams and revealed some surprising things about himself, including his belief that he may be on the autism spectrum.

    The 60-year old comedian, who worked the standup circuit for years before finding huge success with his pal Larry David on Seinfeld, says he sees things in himself that line up with the disorder, but that it just means he thinks in a different way.

    “You know, never paying attention to the right things. Basic social engagement is really a struggle. I’m very literal. When people talk to me and they use expressions, sometimes I don’t know what they’re saying. But I don’t see it as dysfunctional. I just think of it as an alternate mindset,” he said.

    While some hope that the successful comedian’s announcement will inspire and encourage others who fall on the spectrum of autistic disorders to follow their own paths in life, others worry that celebrity claims like Seinfeld’s will only do harm.

    “Seinfeld said he hopes his announcement will help diminish the stigma of autism, an unequivocally laudable intention. Retroactively self-diagnosed adults or high-functioning autistics like Temple Grandin indeed may be living proof that one can overcome huge obstacles and live with and even flourish despite autism. Every day, dead people, too — Mozart, Newton, Einstein — are also retroactively diagnosed with autism. What I fear is that these public faces of autism will allow society, and more important, policymakers, mentally off the hook. You can have autism and get a Ph.D.! It helps you write jokes! Your charming quirks and aggravating behaviors are now explainable,” wrote Marie Myung-Ok Lee for Salon.com.

    Seinfeld has not commented on the interview or on the backlash.