Autism spectrum
Subject in Mental Health
Autism spectrum has come up in 1 episode across 1 podcast in TMT, including TED Radio Hour. 2 people have made recorded remarks about it.
What people said
Ty TashiroPsychologist and social scientist, author of Awkward: The Science of Why We're Socially Awkward and Why That's Awesome
Tashiro says many parents report children near the 95th percentile of autistic traits who cannot get help because they do not meet the diagnostic threshold.
“my son or daughter would be at like that 95th percentile of autism characteristics and they can never qualify for a diagnosis”
TED Radio Hour: Life can be so awkward. Here's how to embrace the embarrassing (Sep 25, 2026) · Listen from 9:24
Tashiro argues that awkward people are not autistic, but autistic and awkward traits lie on a continuum without a clean cutoff.
“And so awkward people aren't autistic. I don't think it would be good for us to say that they're on the autism spectrum. But it is the case that it's not a clean cutoff”
TED Radio Hour: Life can be so awkward. Here's how to embrace the embarrassing (Sep 25, 2026) · Listen from 9:57
Liana FinckNew Yorker cartoonist and author
Finck says that although undiagnosed, she relates most to mild autism, a diagnosis she believes was not available in her childhood.
“I haven't been diagnosed, but the thing I relate to the most is mild autism”
TED Radio Hour: Life can be so awkward. Here's how to embrace the embarrassing (Sep 25, 2026) · Listen from 30:33
Podcasts
- TED Radio Hour · 1 episode
Episodes
Life can be so awkward. Here's how to embrace the embarrassingTED Radio Hour · Sep 25, 2026 · 50 min
Manoush Zomorodi talks with Ty Tashiro, Liana Finck, Melissa Dahl and Erin Chen about awkwardness, embarrassment, cringe and talking openly about sex.