John Elder Robison

It’s long been assumed that people living with autism and Asperger’s are born with a diminished ability to read the emotions of others, even as they feel emotion deeply. But what if we’ve been wrong all this time? What if that ‘missing’ emotional insight was there all along, locked away and inaccessible in the mind?

In 2007, John Elder Robison wrote the international bestseller Look Me in the Eye, a memoir about growing up with Asperger’s. Amid the blaze of publicity that followed, he received a unique invitation. Would John like to take part in a study led by one of the world’s foremost neuroscientists, who would use an experimental new brain therapy in a major effort to understand and then address the issues at the heart of autism and Asperger’s?

In this keynote, based on his new book Switched On, Robison tells the extraordinary story of what happened next. Having spent forty years as a social outcast, misreading other’s emotions or missing them completely, John is suddenly able to sense a powerful range of feelings in other people. However, this newfound insight brings new problems and serious questions. As the emotional ground shifts beneath his feet, Robison struggles with the very real possibility that choosing to diminish his disability might also mean sacrificing his unique gifts—and even some of his closest relationships. 

In affecting, unforgettable talks, John Elder Robison details how he overcame enormous odds to lead a fulfilling life: from an anti-social child to a successful father now running a multi-million dollar car specialty shop and his own photography business. Though his life is unique—he’s designed guitars for KISS and toys for Milton Bradley—it’s equally rich with clues to both spotting autism in children and harnessing the best from those already diagnosed. (Some autistic kids excel at math, in engineering, and with technology.) Robison has been applauded by thousands—the general public, teachers, mental health workers—for his storytelling skill, his on-stage compassion, and his insistence that anyone can lead successful lives according to gifts, not limitations. Asperger’s is not a disease that needs curing; it’s a way of experiencing life that requires only understanding and encouragement from others. Robison reminds us that people “on the spectrum” can develop throughout their lives, and that it’s never too late to hope for or expect change.

In this talk, John Elder Robison describes how the differences of autism and ADHD can disable us as children even as they confer powerful competitive advantages upon us as adults. Though poignant examples from his own life, Robison shows how traits that crippled him as a child actually facilitated some of his greatest accomplishments as an adult. He shares a new way to look at disability, difference, and giftedness, and offers a different paradigm for educators, parents, and neurodiverse people. Anyone who is personally affected by autism, Asperger’s, or ADHD will find this talk illuminating and inspiring. 

In this talk, John Elder Robison presents a new way to look at the education of young people who are “different.” Why is this important? Researchers have begun to realize that many of humanity’s greatest minds showed traits of difference—what we now call neurodiversity (for neurological diversity.) As great a genius as Michelangelo was, he’d probably struggle to graduate high school if he were growing up today. The same can be said for Einstein, Newton, and a host of other great thinkers. Drawing on experience with his TCS high school program and his work as Neurodiversity Scholar in Residence at The College of William & Mary, Robison talks about how forward thinkers in high schools and colleges are blazing a trail to a new form of education which is more inclusive and more successful.