ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Faith Jegede Cole - Writer
Writer Faith Jegede Cole draws on her experiences growing up with two autistic brothers in order to spread awareness and understanding about this increasingly common diagnosis.

Why you should listen

Faith Jegede Cole is a British writer, speaker and researcher. She is passionate about the power of storytelling and its ability to shift mindsets. Her TED Talk titled "What I’ve learned from my autistic brothers" has been viewed over a million times and has warmed the hearts of families impacted by autism.

Faith is currently pursuing her PhD in Communication at American University. She has spent the last three years studying identity, reputation and privacy in the world of online communication. Her research specifically explores the tensions between online visibility and online vulnerability that are experienced when seeking to create positive changes in society.

Prior to her PhD, Faith worked within the radio broadcasting industry for seven years. Before moving to America she hosted and produced her own lifestyle show on a national UK station.

Faith is a proud Londoner, but now lives in Washington DC, with her husband Nathaniel Cole and happily calls it home.

More profile about the speaker
Faith Jegede Cole | Speaker | TED.com
TED@London

Faith Jegede Cole: What I've learned from my autistic brothers

Faith Judge: O que aprendi com meus irmãos autistas

Filmed:
1,325,374 views

Faith Judge conta de modo comovente e engraçado sobre como cresceu com seus dois irmãos, ambos autistas - e ambos extraordinários. Nesta palestra do TED Talent Search, ela nos lembra a buscar a vida além do que seja considerado normal.
- Writer
Writer Faith Jegede Cole draws on her experiences growing up with two autistic brothers in order to spread awareness and understanding about this increasingly common diagnosis. Full bio

Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.

00:16
Today I have just one request.
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Hoje, tenho apenas um pedido.
00:19
Please don't tell me I'm normal.
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Por favor, não digam que sou normal.
00:23
Now I'd like to introduce you to my brothers.
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Agora, gostaria de apresentar-lhes meus dois irmãos.
00:27
Remi is 22,
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Remi tem 22 anos,
00:29
tall and very handsome.
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é alto e muito bonito.
00:32
He's speechless, but he communicates joy
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Ele não fala, mas comunica alegria
00:36
in a way that some of the best orators cannot.
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de uma forma que poucos dos melhores oradores conseguem.
00:41
Remi knows what love is.
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Remi sabe o que é o amor.
00:43
He shares it unconditionally and he shares it regardless.
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Ele o partilha incondicionalmente e ele o compartilha independentemente,
00:48
He's not greedy. He doesn't see skin color.
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Ele não é mesquinho. Ele não vê a cor da pele.
00:51
He doesn't care about religious differences, and get this:
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Ele não liga para diferenças religiosas, e ouçam essa:
00:54
He has never told a lie.
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Ele jamais contou uma mentira.
00:58
When he sings songs from our childhood,
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Quando ele canta as canções da nossa infância,
01:00
attempting words that not even I could remember,
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tentando usar palavras que nem eu consigo recordar.
01:03
he reminds me of one thing:
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ele me faz lembrar duma coisa:
01:05
how little we know about the mind, and how wonderful
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do quão pouco conhecemos a mente, e do quão maravilhoso
01:08
the unknown must be.
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deve ser o desconhecido.
01:11
Samuel is 16. He's tall. He's very handsome.
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Samuel tem 16 anos. Ele é alto. É muito bonito.
01:17
He has the most impeccable memory.
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Ele tem uma memória impecável.
01:21
He has a selective one, though.
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Contudo, sua memória é seletiva.
01:23
He doesn't remember if he stole my chocolate bar,
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Ele não se lembra se roubou minha barra de chocolate,
01:27
but he remembers the year of release for every song on my iPod,
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mas se lembra do ano de lançamento de cada música no meu iPod,
01:31
conversations we had when he was four,
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de conversas que tivemos quando ele tinha quatro anos,
01:33
weeing on my arm on the first ever episode of Teletubbies,
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de ter feito xixi no meu braço durante o primeiro episódio dos Teletubbies,
01:36
and Lady Gaga's birthday.
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e do dia do aniversário da Lady Gaga.
01:40
Don't they sound incredible?
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Não são incríveis?
01:43
But most people don't agree.
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Mas, a maioria das pessoas não concorda.
01:46
And in fact, because their minds don't fit
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E, porque suas mentes não encaixam
01:48
into society's version of normal,
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na versão que a sociedade tem sobre normalidade,
01:51
they're often bypassed and misunderstood.
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eles são frequentemente deixados de lado e mal compreendidos.
01:54
But what lifted my heart and strengthened my soul
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Mas o que me deu ânimo e fortaleceu minha alma
01:58
was that even though this was the case,
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é que embora esse fosse o caso,
02:00
although they were not seen as ordinary,
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embora eles não sejam considerados pessoas comuns,
02:03
this could only mean one thing:
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isto só pode significar uma coisa:
02:05
that they were extraordinary --
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que eles são extraordinários -
02:09
autistic and extraordinary.
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autistas e extraordinários.
02:13
Now, for you who may be less familiar with the term "autism,"
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Para quem não esteja muito familiarizado com o termo "autismo".
02:18
it's a complex brain disorder that affects social communication,
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trata-se de um distúrbio cerebral que afeta a comunicação social,
02:21
learning and sometimes physical skills.
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as habilidades de aprendizado e, às vezes, as habilidades físicas.
02:25
It manifests in each individual differently,
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Ele se manifesta de forma diferente em cada indivíduo.
02:28
hence why Remi is so different from Sam.
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e é por isso que Remi é diferente do Sam.
02:31
And across the world, every 20 minutes, one new person
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Em todo o mundo, a cada 20 minutos, alguém é diagnosticado
02:33
is diagnosed with autism, and although it's one of
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com autismo. E, embora seja um dos transtornos de
02:36
the fastest-growing developmental disorders in the world,
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desenvolvimento que mais cresce no mundo,
02:39
there is no known cause or cure.
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não se conhece causa ou cura.
02:42
And I cannot remember the first moment I encountered autism,
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Nem consigo lembrar-me do primeiro momento em que me defrontei com autismo,
02:46
but I cannot recall a day without it.
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mas não posso me lembrar de um dia sequer sem ele.
02:49
I was just three years old when my brother came along,
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Eu tinha apenas três anos quando meu irmão nasceu,
02:51
and I was so excited that
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e eu estava tão entusiasmada por
02:53
I had a new being in my life.
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ter um novo ser em minha vida.
02:57
And after a few months went by,
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Depois de alguns meses,
02:59
I realized that he was different.
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percebi que ele era diferente.
03:02
He screamed a lot.
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Ele gritava muito.
03:04
He didn't want to play like the other babies did,
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Ele não queria brincar como os outros bebes,
03:07
and in fact, he didn't seem
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e, de fato, ele não parecia
03:09
very interested in me whatsoever.
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nem um pouco interessado em mim.
03:12
Remi lived and reigned in his own world, with his own rules,
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Remi vivia e reinava no seu próprio mundo, com suas próprias regras,
03:16
and he found pleasure in the smallest things,
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e encontrava prazer nas mínimas coisas,
03:18
like lining up cars around the room
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como colocar carros em fila ao redor do quarto
03:20
and staring at the washing machine
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e ficar olhando a máquina de lavar,
03:22
and eating anything that came in between.
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e comer qualquer coisa que estivesse no seu caminho.
03:26
And as he grew older, he grew more different,
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À medida que foi crescendo, ele era cada vez mais diferente,
03:29
and the differences became more obvious.
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e as diferenças tornaram-se mais óbvias.
03:32
Yet beyond the tantrums and the frustration
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Porém, além das birras e das frustrações
03:35
and the never-ending hyperactivity
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e da hiperatividade incessante
03:38
was something really unique:
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havia algo realmente único:
03:41
a pure and innocent nature, a boy who saw the world
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uma natureza pura e inocente, um garoto que via o mundo
03:45
without prejudice, a human who had never lied.
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sem preconceito, um ser humano que jamais mentiu.
03:50
Extraordinary.
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Extraordinário.
03:53
Now, I cannot deny that there have been
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Agora, não posso negar que houve
03:55
some challenging moments in my family,
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alguns momentos bem desafiadores na minha família,
03:58
moments where I've wished that they were just like me.
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momentos nos quais eu desejava que eles fossem como eu.
04:01
But I cast my mind back to the things that they've taught me
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Mas, eu me recordo das coisas que eles me ensinaram
04:04
about individuality and communication and love,
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sobre individualidade, comunicação e amor,
04:08
and I realize that these are things that
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e percebo que estas são coisas que
04:11
I wouldn't want to change with normality.
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eu não gostaria de mudar com a normalidade.
04:15
Normality overlooks the beauty that differences give us,
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A normalidade desconsidera a beleza que as diferenças nos traz,
04:21
and the fact that we are different doesn't mean that one of us is wrong.
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e que o fato de sermos diferentes não significa que um de nós esteja errado.
04:24
It just means that there's a different kind of right.
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Significa apenas que há um tipo diferente de certo.
04:28
And if I could communicate just one thing to Remi
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E se eu puder dizer ao Remi apenas uma coisa
04:32
and to Sam
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e ao Sam
04:34
and to you,
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e para vocês
04:36
it would be that you don't have to be normal.
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é que vocês não precisam ser normais.
04:39
You can be extraordinary.
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Vocês podem ser extraordinários.
04:43
Because autistic or not,
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Porque sendo ou não autista
04:46
the differences that we have --
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as nossas diferenças -
04:48
We've got a gift! Everyone's got a gift inside of us,
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Temos um dom! Todos temos um dom dentro de nós mesmos,
04:52
and in all honesty, the pursuit of normality
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e para ser totalmente honesta, a busca da normalidade
04:56
is the ultimate sacrifice of potential.
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é o sacrifício extremo da potencialidade.
04:59
The chance for greatness, for progress and for change
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A oportunidade de crescimento, de progresso e mudança
05:03
dies the moment we try to be like someone else.
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morre no momento em que tentamos ser como alguma outra pessoa.
05:07
Please -- don't tell me I'm normal.
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Por favor, não me digam que sou normal.
05:10
Thank you. (Applause)
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Obrigada. (aplausos)
05:12
(Applause)
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(aplausos)
Translated by Melanie Wyffels
Reviewed by Zuzana Piovarciova

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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Faith Jegede Cole - Writer
Writer Faith Jegede Cole draws on her experiences growing up with two autistic brothers in order to spread awareness and understanding about this increasingly common diagnosis.

Why you should listen

Faith Jegede Cole is a British writer, speaker and researcher. She is passionate about the power of storytelling and its ability to shift mindsets. Her TED Talk titled "What I’ve learned from my autistic brothers" has been viewed over a million times and has warmed the hearts of families impacted by autism.

Faith is currently pursuing her PhD in Communication at American University. She has spent the last three years studying identity, reputation and privacy in the world of online communication. Her research specifically explores the tensions between online visibility and online vulnerability that are experienced when seeking to create positive changes in society.

Prior to her PhD, Faith worked within the radio broadcasting industry for seven years. Before moving to America she hosted and produced her own lifestyle show on a national UK station.

Faith is a proud Londoner, but now lives in Washington DC, with her husband Nathaniel Cole and happily calls it home.

More profile about the speaker
Faith Jegede Cole | Speaker | TED.com